


Shadow of Grief, Ghost of Hope

by Zeelian



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Breathplay, Bucky Barnes & Winter Soldier are Different Personalities, Bucky Barnes's Trigger Words, Civil War Team Iron Man, Cliffhangers, Comic Book Science, Consensual Kink, Delusional Steve Rogers, Dom/sub Undertones, Dubious Consent due to brainwashing, Everyone Has Issues, Extremis (Marvel), Grief/Mourning, HYDRA are assholes, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Mild Gore, Mild Painplay, Minor Character Death, Not Beta Read, Not Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Compliant, Possessive Sex, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – PTSD, Protective FRIDAY, Revenge, Shapeshifter Loki (Marvel), Slow Burn, Suicide Attempt, Tense What Tense?, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Still Has Arc Reactor, Touch-Starved, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, dark themes, not team Cap friendly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:34:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 250,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26165716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeelian/pseuds/Zeelian
Summary: Finding out about his parents' murder at the hand of the Winter Soldier, Captain America's old war buddy, pushes Tony Stark into a very dark place and he turns to the former HYDRA assassin with a burning fury, part of him screaming for revenge.Finding out that Steve knew and didn't tell him pushes him over the edge and he lashes out against the super soldier, but just as Steve is about to retaliate the Winter Soldier takes Tony by surprise, by knocking Steve out and surrendering.The Asset knows that to be free HYDRA must be crushed, and for that to happen his best chance is the resources of Tony Stark, when Captain America shows up in Bucharest the fragmented memories of who he once was tells him that the Captain will protect him and bring him to the Avengers so the Asset goes with him, but when the Captain is about to attack Iron Man with deadly intent he makes a choice and goes against the voices within.The Asset neutralizes the Captain and surrenders to Iron Man, hoping that he will be able to convince the man to use HYDRA's own weapon to take them down.
Relationships: Minor Tony Stark/The Winter Soldier/Loki, The Winter Soldier & Friday, Tony Stark/The Winter Soldier
Comments: 391
Kudos: 1163
Collections: Winteriron all the time





	1. Winter's Choice

**Author's Note:**

> As long time fan of FrostIron & WinterIron I have ended up with an idea stuck in my head so i decided to try my hand at writing a fic of my own.
> 
> This will start out fairly light, but there will be trips into the dark, grief and trauma can make us react in the strangest ways.
> 
> Comments are now moderated as some comments kept going off tangent into politics.

.·:*¨¨*:·Winter's Choice·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


The arrival of Iron Man had the Asset unsettled, his mind was still muddled by the residual compulsion caused by the trigger words and the fight at the airport so he kept his rifle trained even as the helmet retracted into the suit, revealing the bruised face of Tony Stark.  
  


“You seem a little defensive.”  
  


The Asset tensed when Stark spoke despite the seemingly easy and friendly tone, he could sense the tension beneath it, he always could.  
When the Captain walked away, shield raised, he found that he was unsure of the intentions of either man and the fragments of the Other screaming in the back of his mind to trust _Stevie_ , protect _Stevie_ , made it hard to think straight.  
  


“At ease soldier, I'm not currently after you.”  
  


He hadn't been paying much attention to the words spoken, his focus was on watching for any indications that Stark would attack.  
It didn't feel like he would though and the Asset had learned to trust those feelings.  
  


“Hey, Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here.”  
  


When Stark addressed him directly the Asset tensed again, but this time the Captain, _Stevie_ the Other insisted, signalled for him to lower his weapon, so he did, the compulsion to _Obey_ still strong in his mind.  
Logically he knew that the Captain was not his _Handler_ , not HYDRA at all, but the compulsion to _Obey_ caused by the trigger words was a powerful one and obeying lessened the pain screaming through his mind.  
Obeying was easier, less confusing, he needed time to regroup, recover, the fragments of the Other, the one that came before, were telling him that the Captain would keep him safe until he could recover, could make plans to make sure HYDRA could never get him again.  
  


The Asset allowed himself to slip into _Mission_ mode, falling into step with the Captain and Stark who had re-engaged the helmet of the suit as they carefully cleared the way through the HYDRA facility.  
Mission mode was familiar, comfortable, clearing a facility was something the Asset could do in his sleep and it calmed the storm within, allowed him to think, to sort the fragments and silence the storm that was the voices.  
  


The fragments of the Other, the one the Captain called _Bucky,_ had been a plague on his mind, each fragment screaming with its own voice, always screaming in the mind of the Asset.  
As much as the Asset hated the confusion and pain the fragments caused they did allow him to break through the conditioning long enough to get away from HYDRA, to break down the compulsion to return.  
Being away from HYDRA kept him away from the _Chair_ , and the _Wipes,_ it allowed the Asset's brain to heal and begin to break down the compulsions that HYDRA conditioning had created.  
The Asset had gone underground in Bucharest trying to piece together the memories that the Chair had disrupted, but it was a slow process.  
  


The HYDRA serum had kept James Buchanan Barnes alive through the Fall, the fitting of the Arm and HYDRA conditioning, allowed him to survive the Chair and the Cryostasis, but while it protected his body, his mind remained vulnerable.  
Over time HYDRA's methods began to take their toll and under the constant stress and pain the mind of James Buchanan Barnes began to fracture.  
The fracture developed into Dissociative Identity Disorder and the Asset was born to protect what remained of James Buchanan Barnes, but in doing so the fractured mind weakened further, and shattered completely.  
The fragments that were HYDRA conditioning and training were joined by memories of military training and formed a Soldier, someone to take the pain, carry out the missions, but in the end it didn't prevent the fragments from shattering further each time they were wiped.  
  


The wipes caused significant damage to the synaptic pathways that allowed memory access, damage that the serum couldn't heal, it healed the tissue, but the connections remained severed, the memories still there, hidden deep inside, adding their own voice to the screams of the fragments.  
In Bucharest the Asset had a chance to heal more, and as the body healed he was able to find and examine some of the hidden memories, connect them to fragments of the Other, and he soon found that if he could connect fragments to memories he could build them into larger clusters.  
These clusters shared a single voice instead of the cries of their parts, slowly, gradually, dimming the cacophony of voices, but it was hard work and somehow he knew he would never be able to rebuild James Buchanan Barnes, too many of the fragments were a part of the Asset, the pieces just wouldn't fit.  
And as much as the Asset wanted to rebuild the fragments he would not shatter himself to do so, so he hid, carefully hoarding memories, rebuilding a puzzle with missing pieces as best as he could, he had always been good at puzzles.  
  


The Asset had also been planning, searching for information that could help take down HYDRA and ensure that he would never be under their control again, that search had repeatedly led him to Tony Stark.  
While the Captain was on a crusade, the Asset recognized that Stark's mind and resources, both financial and political, could very well be the key to taking down HYDRA once and for all.  
HYDRA considered Captain America a person of interest for the serum, and a nuisance, while Stark was a top level threat even before becoming Iron Man, _Do not engage_ , he had resources that rivalled those of entire nations.  
  


The Asset had put a lot of research into Stark, looking for a way to aim those resources at HYDRA, and he had found that maybe Stark would also be able to assist with the fragments, the BARF technology seemed promising, maybe it could assist in finding more memories, merging more of the fragments.  
He had already made several scenarios for missions to get Stark involved in taking down HYDRA, they were still being refined though.  
  


But before the Asset could complete his scenarios and pick one to run the Sokovia Accords came into play and then the bombing of the UN meeting, painting a huge bullseye on his back..  
When the Captain appeared at the small apartment the Other insisted that they trust him, trust _Stevie_ , that _Stevie_ would protect them and not allow HYDRA to get them.  
With few options available the Asset went with it, having someone to watch his back while he regrouped would be useful, and the Captain was one of the Avengers, alongside with Iron Man, it could give access to the man.  
Tactical awareness told the Asset that seeking out Stark would be the logical step to take, but the Captain insisted that Stark was compromised, the Asset doubted that, but the Other insisted they trust _Stevie_ , _Stevie_ would never lie to them.  
  


They had been caught though, surrendered and brought in, the Asset didn't like being locked up, the restraints too reminiscent of the Chair, but he knew he could break them so he forced himself to appear relaxed.  
The Asset tried to break free when he heard the _Words_ but was too slow, then he was fighting, part of him screaming as the triggers compelled him to attack Stark at the police station, compelled him to fight.  
At the airport the triggers were still fresh, forcing the Asset's will aside for the compulsions to obey, so obey he did, the pain lessened when obeying, but once again the part not forced into compliance by the triggers was raging against the idea of fighting against Stark, Stark was the best hope for freedom from HYDRA, best chance to regain memories, rebuild the fragments, silence the voices, and maybe, just maybe, break the _Words'_ power to control the Asset.  
  


“I got heat signatures.”  
“How many?”  
“Uh, one.”  
  


The short conversation between Iron Man and the Captain instantly had the Asset focusing 100% on the current situation again.  
A single heat signature meant there was likely no active cryostasis chambers in the room, and no Winter Soldiers, it left the Asset unsettled, had the other soldiers been activated already and if so where were they?  
Had they been moved to a different base, and if they had, where had then been moved?  
Why were they not there, waiting for them?  
  


The Asses knew enough about the Iron Man suit to know that its sensors were very accurate, if they only detected one heat source then there was only one, and the serum altered metabolism of the soldiers made them run hot, easier for thermal sensors to detect, the Asset was aware of it as a potential weakness during missions  
Only a handful missions were accessible in his mind, he knew there were more, a lot more from what he had found about the Winter Soldier in various files, but the pathways were missing.  
Sometimes something would trigger a memory and rebuild a pathway, a scent, a location, reading about an event during his searches, and once triggered he could remember it, the Other would scream and shy away from the memories while the Asset held no emotional attachment to it, it was the past, just old mission reports.  
  


Stepping into the room the questions about the other Winter Soldiers are answered, all five of them dead in their cryostasis chambers, all from a single shot to the head.  
It does raise a lot of new questions though, especially why would the man hiding behind the observation window go through all that trouble, finding the Words, framing the Asset, triggering him to get the information, only to kill the Winter Soldiers, and why lure others there?  
The Asset was confused though, he could recall the man demanding information about a mission, and he could recall complying, but he couldn't recall what information he had given the man.  
  


The Asset watched as Iron Man and the Captain engaged the man in conversation and something felt very wrong about the whole situation, putting him on edge, making him slip deeper into his current state of hypervigilance.  
  


“I know that road. What is this?”  
  


Seeing the footage from an old traffic camera triggered a new set of memories, and the Asset knew that things had just become a lot more complicated, Stark's parents had died by his hands.  
When Stark turns toward him the Asset forces the fight response down, and a moment later the Captain intervenes and Stark turns to face him.  
The Asset can easily read the pain and grief in Stark's face and posture, and it is clear that the situation is rapidly deteriorating.  
  


“Did you know?”  
  


Stark's voice sounds hollow, broken, and the Asset could feel the voices of the fragments dim, waiting for the Captain's reply.  
  


“I didn't know it was him.”  
  


The fragments were suddenly silent and the Asset knew the Captain had lied.  
  


“Don't bullshit me, Rogers! Did you know?”  
  


The voice was still broken, but a dangerous edge of anger was quickly overtaking the pain and grief, and the Asset's training told him there was a high risk that Stark would lash out.  
  


“Yes.”  
  


As the Captain spoke the single, damning, word the Asset could feel the compulsion to follow, to trust, waver and shatter as the aspect of the fragments that had enforced it realised the depth of the Captain's betrayal toward a teammate, toward the son of a friend.  
  


The Asset wasn't the least bit surprised when Stark reengaged the suit's helmet and slammed the Captain with a vicious punch sending him to the floor next to the Asset, what did surprise him though was the Captain moving to get up in a way that showed he intended to escalate rather than try to calm the distraught and grieving man.  
The Asset made his decision before Stark had a chance to charge at him as well, dropping the rifle he slammed his cybernetic fist into the back of the Captain's head, knocking him out cold, kicked the rifle out of reach, then kneeled down with his arms behind his back.  
He allowed his gaze to quickly flick to the observation window before taking a steadying breath and forcing his body to relax.  
As expected, the Sokovian had cleared out the moment Stark attacked.

To the Asset's relief Stark is an experienced operative and several sets of shackles designed with super soldier strength in mind were launched from the suit and moments later the Captain's hands and feet are bound and the Asset can feel a pair snapping closed around his arms as well.  
  


“A single set won't be enough to restrain the power of my cybernetic arm.”  
  


The Asset speaks calmly and a heartbeat later two more shackles are launched from the suit and as they wrap around their target Stark retracts the faceplate of the suit, the helmet remained though.  
  


The glare that Stark levelled him with would no doubt have made most men squirm, but the position was familiar to the Asset, showing discomfort or emotion was not tolerated when the Handlers demanded submission, it would only lead to further punishment.  
  


“Did **you** know?”

There was an edge in Stark's voice and eye's that screamed danger, telling the Asset the man was still very likely to lash out with little or no additional provocation.  
  


“HYDRA conditioning and control methods include memory wipes, the Asset was unaware of this mission until seeing the footage triggered the formation of a new synaptic pathway.”  
  


The sharp backhand that followed didn't surprise the Asset, he was impressed by the speed it had been delivered with though as he slowly collected himself from the floor and resumed his kneeling position in front of Stark.  
  


“Oh, nothing more to say?”  
  


The dangerous edge was still there, but it was quickly fading back into broken hollowness.  
  


“I will not insult you by feigning remorse that I am unable to feel, nor will I offer empty apologies.”  
  


The second blow was slower, and held a lot less force, and while it made his body rock slightly the Asset remained in position, watching as Stark struggled to regain control.  
  


“Nothing?”  
  


Stark is clearly expecting the Asset to explain his actions, but he's not entirely sure which actions, the murder, the whole escape and evade HYDRA after Project Insight, or the events that lead up to his current surrender.  
After considering the options the Asset spoke up, keeping his voice low and even.  
  


“I will accept whatever punishment, pay whatever restitution you see fit to atone for my actions, but I was hoping you would be willing to take this Weapon of HYDRA's and wield it to **destroy them**.”

The Asset surprised himself a bit at the low growl that entered his tone as he spoke of destroying HYDRA, he didn't know he was even capable of such emotion.  
The way Stark's posture switched from threatening, slightly forward leaning, to ramrod straight made it quite obvious it was not a reply he had expected and the way emotions played over his face fascinated the Asset, so much emotion all at once.  
Then, as sudden as it began, it stills and settles on something akin to determination and Stark's eyes narrow with a dangerous gleam and for a moment the Asset is sure Stark will kill him.  
Before the Asset can try to read the look on Stark's face any further the shackles around his arms disengage and Stark smiles, a dark smile that promises pain and death to anyone who dares cross him.  
It makes him look very different from the pictures in the material the Asset has studied, but somehow he gets a feeling that this is Stark's true face, it also makes the Asset certain that he is about to die.  
The Asset accepts death, it was a probable outcome of confronting Stark even before learning about the death of his parents.

The Asset doesn't move to defend himself as Stark approaches, instead he focuses on keeping still, but to his surprise Stark just gives his cybernetic arm a nudge as he steps past him and grabs the Captain by the back of his uniform.  
  


“Grab the shield, time to blow this joint.”  
  


The Asset finds himself somewhat confused by the light tone and choice of words, but obeying is something he knows well, something easy to fall back into so he does what he is told.  
  


“Might wanna grab your rifle too in case our host is still lurking around.”  
  


He can hear the faceplate close as Stark turns his back and hoists the Captain up on his shoulder and starts moving toward the exit.  
Again the Asset finds himself surprised and confused that Stark would not just release him from the shackles, but arm him and turn his back at him, he can't help but feel that it's a test, a test he intends to pass.  
  


“Acknowledged.”  
  


The Asset allowed himself to slip fully into the familiarity of obeying, grabbing the rifle and falling into step behind Stark, carefully looking for signs of stress, but there was no sign of anything but the usual vigilance of a soldier in enemy territory.  
For some unfathomable reason Stark seemed to trust the Asset and he intends to prove himself worthy of that trust so he focuses on the training he had received in protecting VIP's, finding it surprisingly easy to assume the role when done willingly.  
  


As they exited the bunker they were met by the Wankandan with the black suit, and at his feet the Sokovian man that had orchestrated the entire mess was trussed up and gagged.  
When the enhanced Wakandan, _Prince_ _T'Challa_ according to the information the Asset had acquired, turned to them Stark raised his free hand, the repulsor powering up with a soft whine, a clear warning that he did not trust the young prince.

“Sorry your Kittiness, but these two are mine, feel free to keep that one though.”  
  


Stark makes a nonchalant gesture toward T'Challa's prisoner while moving to place himself between the prince and the Asset.  
  


“Please, wait.”  
  


T'Challa holds his hands out in a gesture of open surrender as the suit bleeds away from his body.  
  


“I was wrong to pursue the Winter Soldier for the death of my father, for this I must pay restitution.”  
“Whatever your Kittiness. Don't call us we will call you and all that shit.”  
“Dr Stark, please.”  
  


With a huff Stark powered down the repulsor and lifted the faceplate before levelling T'Challa with a somewhat frustrated glare while clearly considering a quick way out of the current situation.  
  


“Alright, how about this, you don't tell anyone I have the Winter Soldier, and we can talk later if you still feel you owe him something?”  
“Acceptable. Zemo will be brought to Wakanda to stand trial for the murder of my father, I will make sure he does not speak out of turn.”  
  


The Asset couldn't see Stark's face, but he could see some of the tension bleed out of his stance.  
  


“Now, if we're all good on that Cap here has a date with a Hulk-proof cell that I rather make sure he doesn't miss.”  
”All good Dr Stark.”  
  


T'Challa gave Stark a slight nod before the black suit began covering his body again.  
  


“Alright tall dark and broody, let's make sure Capsicle here isn't late for that date.”  
  


It took a moment for the Asset to realize that Stark was indeed talking to him but once he did he quickly fell in line and followed Stark to the Quinjet.  
  


He watches as Stark quickly secures the Captain in a seat before opening a panel in the wall and bringing out a large first aid kit.  
  


“Sorry Cap, don't want you to wake up and realize I've got your old buddy here.”  
  


The sight of the small jet injector with an odd, green, liquid almost makes the Asset flinch, but he quickly realizes that it's not intended for him, and moments later Stark has injected the contents into the Captains neck.  
  


“Tranq's developed to be able to take down enhanced individuals like the Hulk, aliens like Thor and Bag of Cats, or super soldiers.”  
  


The Asset nods silently, but doesn't move from where he is standing at the end of the ramp, waiting for instructions.  
  


“You know how to fly one of these babies?”  
“I do.”  
“Good, get us in the air and set a course for New York while I make sure Sleeping Beauty here doesn't wake up and cause trouble.”  
  


The Asset nodded and headed for the cockpit, placed his rifle and the shield within reach and began the start-up sequence for the Quinjet, a quick glance back revealed Stark setting up an IV feeding the Captain another liquid, this one slightly blue and he assumed it was something to make sure the Captain remained unconscious for the duration of their flight.  
  


The Asset was just done setting the auto pilot when he heard the sound of the Iron Man suit dissembling itself, followed by some rather colourful cursing from Stark as he made his way to the cockpit and dropped himself into the co-pilot seat.  
  


“Ouch, fuck it, I'm getting too old for this shit.”  
“You are injured.”  
  
For a moment the Asset began reaching out to assess the damage but he paused, unsure if Stark would punish him for such liberties.  
  
“Yeah that kinda happens when someone drops a fucking pile of cars on your ass.”  
“The _Ved'ma._ Witch.”

Seeing the Ved'ma had triggered some particularly unpleasant memories and the Asset was hoping to add her to the list of targets if Stark agreed to taking down HYDRA, he hadn't actually said he would yet.

“Yeah, she was supposed to be in the compound with Vision to keep the crowds from going all Salem on her and burning her at the stakes. But apparently Cap here felt otherwise and sent Birdbrain to get her out.”  
“They should...”  
“What?”

Stark sounded annoyed, and expectant, but he no longer had the dangerous edge of someone about to lash out.

“They should burn her...”  
“Oh, you know something I don't about her? I mean other than her being Strucker's little pet experiment.”  
“I have memories of seeing her training, seeing her rip the minds of men apart.”  
“Fuck.”

Stark ran his uninjured hand through his hair with a huff.

“My memories are incomplete, but I believe they tried to use her to make the effect of the triggers and the chair permanent.”  
“That's just fucked up. And she did this willingly, no sign of coercion?”  
“Eagerly, gleefully, she was laughing as her victims screamed in pain and terror. She willingly joined HYDRA for power and revenge.”  
“Fuck, fuck, **fuck**!”

Stark cursed up a storm, then winced and yelped as he managed to jostle his injury.  
  


“Ouch, why is it always the same fucking arm...”  
  


The Asset hesitated for a moment, then reached out again.  
  


“May I? Binding it should help relieve the pain until you can have it properly assessed and treated.”  
“Alright, you know where the kit is.”  
  


The Asset felt strangely pleased that Stark seemed confident in his abilities, it was a strange feeling, and it was only then he realized that most of the voices were silent.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·Winter's Choice·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Tony tried his best not to flinch as the fucking Winter Soldier wrapped his injured arm against his torso.  
  


“Easy on the ribs there Florence Nightingale, they're not what they used to be.”  
  


He didn't get an answer, but the bindings were eased off a bit so they didn't put too much pressure against the reactor casing.  
Tony was pretty sure he was in shock, why else would he feel so at ease with his parents' killer taking care of his injury?  
With a few steadying breaths he began going through what had been happening since the bombing of the UN building, trying to figure out how the hell he had ended up with Rogers trussed up and sedated in the back, and his old WWII buddy turned HYDRA assassin sitting in the pilot's seat.  
  


The entire thing was one major clusterfuck and Tony couldn't help blaming Rogers for most of it, if the stubborn bastard had just fucking trusted him none of this would have happened.  
Instead he decided himself that Tony wouldn't be able to handle finding out the truth about his parents' death, decided that Tony would hunt down his precious _Bucky_ and kill him if he found out.  
Sure, Tony would have been pissed and he would have raged about it, but he wasn't a fucking idiot, he had a pretty good idea of what HYDRA had done to create the Winter Soldier, he knew what kind of place torture could put you in.  
Emotionally he hated Barnes, the Soldier, blamed him for Howard's and Maria's deaths, it was still too fresh, too raw for anything else, but intellectually he knew the blame laid squarely on HYDRA, who had aimed and fired the weapon, not the weapon itself.  
  


As he analysed what had happened in the bunker he got a nagging feeling that something was off, the way Barnes seemed to not act on his own volition as much as simply follow Rogers' instructions.  
Then he had dropped his weapon, knocked Rogers out and surrendered, and the way he had done it, the way he was kneeling, something felt very wrong about now that Tony looked back at it, the way he had silently retaken the kneeling position after being hit to the ground.  
The way he had spoken about not feeling remorse, referring to himself as the Asset.  
  


“Fuck!”  
  


Stark could see the cybernetic arm twitch with an instinctive motion to grab for the rifle before stilling and returning to the controls of the Quinjet.  
  


“You're not Bucky at all, are you?”  
“No.”  
  


The answer was short and to the point, and utterly useless.  
  


“I'll need a little more details.”  
  


Tony prodded and after a few moments of silence he got his answer, but he quickly got a feeling he wouldn't like what he was about to hear.  
  


“When James Buchanan Barnes began to break under HYDRA conditioning the Asset was created to try to protect his damaged mind.”  
“Dissociative Identity Disorder?”  
“Yes, but it was not enough and his mind broke, fragmented, I believe beyond recovery as some of the fragments became part of the Asset. The rest remain as fragmented memories, emotions and voices but the wipes... I have been unable to make sense of them.”  
  


Tony ran his hand through his hair again with a deep sigh, the man, Asset or whatever he was now sounded so utterly broken somehow he couldn't help wanting to fix him.  
At the same time he still hated him, fuck this was confusing...  
He needed to keep his distance from this, stay professional.  
  


“Since you're not Bucky any more and I can't very well go around calling you _Asset_ , I need something to call you. Any ideas Soldier?”  
“I... I have a memory of a girl calling me _Yasha_ , I think I like that memory?”  
  


The questioning note on the end damn near broke Tony's resolve before it had a chance to solidify.  
  


“Alright Terminator, Yasha it is.”  
  


Tony tried to relax and get some rest, but it didn't take long before he began twitching with the need to do something, anything, and there's not much to do in the Quinjet other than trying to talk to the Winter Soldier, Yasha, he reminded himself.  
  


“If you don't mind, just what were you thinking when you knocked Capsicle out and surrendered? I could just as well have killed you. I damn well wanted to for a while there, part of me still does.”  
“I know, I was prepared to die if that was the case, still am.”  
“Why?”  
“The Asset is not supposed to want, but I don't want to be wiped again...”  
“Fuck, that's just too fucking messed up.”  
  


Tony wouldn't call what followed an actual conversation, Yasha never spoke up on his own, he also never refused to answer any of the questions Tony asked and some of the answers had made him wish he never asked to begin with.  
  


“Why are you answering all my questions? I mean, even I can tell you don't actually want to answer all of 'em.”  
“HYDRA conditioned me with a compulsion to comply, to obey my Handler.”  
“But I'm not a HYDRA handler...”  
“The compulsion is still there, especially when I have recently been triggered. I will be better able to resist the compulsion in a few days.”  
“Still doesn't answer why you're obeying me...”  
“Compliance brings relief from pain and confusion.”  
“You're telling me you're always in pain unless you are actively obeying someone?”  
“Yes.”  
“I.. I can't... This is... Fuck!”  
  


Tony decided then and there that HYDRA had to go, and something had to be done about that messed up conditioning, he wouldn't tell Yasha yet though, he knew it was petty but part of him still wanted the man to suffer for killing his parents, just not the way he was under HYDRA.  
  


“How bad is it now?”  
“Compliance through debriefing helps.”  
“Alright then Yasha, I want a full report on what has happened since the bombing of the UN meeting, including personal observations that may have an impact on any plans to take down HYDRA.”  
  


As Tony set up one of the small cameras in the Quinjet to record Yasha's report he couldn't help noticing the slight sigh of relief, and instant flinch followed by a shiver before tension began to bleed from Yasha's posture, and after a moment of confusion he realised that Yasha had expected, on pure reflex, to be punished for showing signs of relief.  
He quickly found himself hating HYDRA even more, something he hadn't thought possible.  
  


Listening to Yasha's report was oddly soothing, despite the somewhat disturbing detachment and lack of emotional inflection his voice was calm and deep with a slight roughness, as if he was unaccustomed to speaking and Tony realized that, yes, Yasha probably wasn't used to speaking much.  
Gradually relaxing as he listened Tony noticed other sounds, soft whirs and clicks that were periodically mixed with a somewhat discordant grinding sound that his engineering brain recognised as servos and gears being out of alignment.  
It took much longer than it should to realize the sound came from the cybernetic arm, and a quick glance showed that Yasha was rhythmically opening and closing the hand and rotating the wrist, or at least trying to, there seemed to be something wrong with the range of motion.  
  


“The arm bothering you there?”  
  


The movement stopped instantly and the cybernetic arm returned to a neutral position, but Tony could tell by the slight stiffness in Yasha's shoulder that he was forcing himself to stop the activity.  
  


“The Asset has not received proper maintenance since leaving HYDRA.”  
  


The answer made Tony sigh, Yasha seemed afraid of saying anything that would suggest weakness, or any form of emotional response.  
  


“That's not what I asked. If we're gonna do this I need to know your full condition, mechanically, physically, and as far as possible, mentally.”  
  


For once Yasha didn't answer him, instead he tensed noticeably.  
  


“Hey, Winter Wonderland, talk to me.”  
“Weakness is unacceptable.”  
  


Tony cursed silently to himself, it seemed that every interaction he had with Yasha just showed another twisted facet of HYDRA.  
As much as he hated to admit it he was developing some serious sympathy for the man, and he realised that to get things done he would have to put on a bit of an act, he just hoped it wouldn't backfire somehow.  
  


“Asset!”  
  


The sharp tone and slightly raised voice had Yasha ramrod straight in an instant and both arms went behind his back in a position similar to parade rest.  
  


“Ready to comply.”  
  


Fuck!  
Tony was already hating this.  
  


“Asset, you will provide a full report on the condition of the mechanical arm.”  
“The Asset has sustained minor combat damage to arm unit, wrist mobility impaired, maintenance required for full combat capacity.”  
“And your physical condition?”  
“The Asset has sustained intermediate combat damage, serum efficiency compromised, estimated time to full recovery 30 hours.”  
“Compromised how?”  
“Insufficient nutrition.”  
  


Tony was cursing again as he realized that Yasha probably had the same accelerated metabolism as Rogers, and required a lot more food than a baseline human to be at full health, while at the same time being able to withstand starvation better.  
He quickly headed into the rear compartment and dug around for the special emergency MREs they carried that were adapted for Rogers, Thor and Banner who usually needed some quick energy once he returned form a Code Green.  
He grabbed the entire box and took one of the packages out before setting the box on the floor between the seats and dropping the MRE in Yasha's lap  
  


“Eat. I'll have a look at the arm once we're back, got all the stuff I need back in the workshop.”  
“Acknowledged.”  
  


Stark sighed and settled back, trying to relax while watching Yasha make short work or the special MRE.  
  


“Go on, eat as many as you need. I trust you are aware of your dietary needs for optimal function.”  
“Yes.”  
  


Gods, Tony hated this with a vengeance, speaking to Yasha as if he was some kind of tool or slave, part of him was whispering that the man who killed his parents deserved it and more, and Tony found himself hating that voice.  
He did his best to quell that voice as he watched Yasha wolf down nearly half the box of MREs before settling back into staring at the flight data readouts.  
  


“How long will that hold you over?”  
  


Tony intentionally tried to keep his tone light, non-commanding, to see how Yasha would respond.  
  


“I will need a few hours to digest the food, but for optimal performance I will need more. I have been...”  
“Been what? Talk to me please...”  
“Acquiring sufficient amounts of food has been hard while also staying hidden. The Asset would normally receive nutrition packs for extended missions.”  
“One more fucked up thing to add to the list...”  
  


This time Yasha tilted his head slightly at Tony's grumbling.  
  


“List of things that needs to be done if we are gonna try to make this work.”  
  


Tony clarified with a huff.  
  


“What kind of things?”  
“Well for starters fixing that arm of yours, making sure you're properly fed, and hopefully, if you're willing to let me poke around, do something about those triggers and compulsions to comply, those could really fuck things up if we run into a HYDRA asshole who knows about them."  
“BARF?”  
“Well well, someone has been doing their homework.”  
“Mission parameters for my last HYDRA mission included authorization to independently seek out mission pertinent information as needed. Made it easier to look things up.”  
“Fuck...”  
“блядь.”  
  


Tony couldn't help barking out a laugh when Yasha mirrored his curse in Russian.  
  


“You speak Russian?”  
  


Yasha sounded surprised, and Tony was surprised that he had actually initiated conversation for once.  
  


“Yeah, helps if you understand what the assholes kidnapping you are saying, learned my lesson after Afghanistan.”  
“When you got that?”  
  


Tony quickly covered the reactor with his hand before nodding.  
  


“It's one of many items that HYDRA desires to get their hands on.”  
  


The pain of seeing his parents murdered surfaced again, turning his voice cold.  
  


“They never sent you to steal it though.”  
“Despite the risk you present HYDRA prefers to keep you alive so they would have sent a different asset for such a task, maybe hire one of the Widows.”  
“A honeypot?”  
“You have a reputation.”  
“Lies and slander!”  
  


For a moment Tony could see a flicker of a genuine smile before Yasha grabbed one of the remaining MREs and shoved it into his hand.  
  


“You need to eat as well, you are starting to smell.”  
“What?!”  
  


Tony took the MRE on pure reflex, but his head was spinning trying to keep with the sudden mood changes, that was supposed to be his gig.  
  


“The human body produces a distinct smell when blood sugar begins to drop low. Exhaustion has its own scent as well.”  
“I don't remember Rogers being a fucking bloodhound...”  
“Different formula, different training.”  
“I guess.”  
  


Tony paused a moment to use his teeth to rip open some of the pouches in the MRE.  
  


“So, what kind of stuff can you do that Capsicle over there can't?”  
“HYDRA's files on the Captain are extensive, but I do not know how complete, or accurate they are.”  
“Don't worry 'bout that, just go with what they do contain.”  
“Acknowledged.”  
  


The return to the stilted speech pattern almost made Tony flinch again, he had noticed that Yasha's speech changed at times, likely depending on how deeply affected he was by the conditioning at the time.  
As far as he could tell it seemed that the more affected he was the more stilted his speech became, and he also gained a distinct Russian accent, even sometimes using Russian words.  
  


It isn't until the flight computer beeps, alerting them that they are entering US airspace that Tony realizes that he had fallen asleep while Yasha recounted an impressive list of skills he had been trained in, including some seriously odd things, like classical ballet.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·Winter's Choice·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


As they approached the Stark Tower Tony took the controls and set the Quinjet down on the landing pad which was a bit tougher than usual with his left arm all trussed up, but fortunately it came with his own flavour of custom auto-pilot, meaning it mostly just needed his codes so the tower defences wouldn't shoot it down..  
  


“Fri baby, blackout protocols please. And could you turn on the light in the Hulk containment cell while you're at it, containment protocol _Captain Spangles_?”  
“Sure thing Boss.”  
“Come on Else, let's get Aurora here to a nice, secure, cell.”  
  


The crooked look Yasha gives him just makes Tony smile wider and remove the restraints before nudging Rogers' sleeping form toward the other super soldier.  
  


“You mind? You super soldier types are built like brick shithouses and unlike you guys I'll need some time before my arm is good for anything remotely straining again.”  
  


Yasha just gave a slight nod before tossing Rogers over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and walking down the ramp.  
  


“Boss is that...”  
“Yes baby girl, it is, but keep that on the down and low for now please.”  
“Boss...”  
“Please Fri, not now.”  
“Alright Boss.”  
  


Yasha seemed to be taking the disembodied voice quite well, the only reaction Tony could see was an extra scan of the small hangar.  
  


“That's my baby girl Friday, she runs the tower and my suits. And well, pretty much everything.”  
“An AI?”  
“The best AI.”  
“Thank you Boss.”  
“I see.”  
  


Tony could hear the soft whirs and clicks from the mechanical arm as the elevator brought them down to the detainment level and it was a strangely calming sound.  
When the doors opened Yasha stepped out and took note of the suppression weapons aimed at them before following the light strips along the floor without prompting.  
  


“We need to get him stripped and settled in the cell.”  
“This cell will hold?”  
  


Yasha tapped the glass with his cybernetic hand.  
  


“It's Hulk-proof glass, go on try it.”  
“Hmm...”  
  


Yasha seemed to be considering his options for a few moments, then the sleek panels of the arm began shifting and he punched the glass with significant force, making the green lights along the floor flash with a pale yellow for a few seconds.  
  


“Easy there, don't wanna damage that arm of yours any more than it already is.”  
“Acknowledged.”  
“So, what do you think, sturdy enough?”  
“It appears to be sufficient.”  
“There's also like a 100 different suppression systems installed there, all of them designed specifically to take out various enhanced individuals.”  
“You have planned for the Avengers betraying you?”  
“Paranoid, I know.”  
“You were obviously right to be concerned.”  
“Tell that to the others...”  
“They dismiss your concerns?”  
“Constantly...”  
“Foolish.”  
  


Tony cursed himself for how good it felt to hear someone validate his worries instead of just dismissing them, even if it was a brainwashed ex HYDRA assassin.  
He pushed the feeling down though and focused on the task of removing the IV before stripping Rogers to make sure he didn't have anything on him that could be used to get out of the cell.  
Once they had Rogers placed on the simple cot Tony placed a stack of towels and a set of sweats and underwear on the small table next to the cot.  
He replaced the IV and set up the more advanced unit in the cell to keep Rogers under until morning.  
  


“Alright, that should keep him out of trouble until we can get some kind of plan sorted. Fri could you order up some food for us please?”  
“Of course Boss. Would it be safe to assume our guest requires extra large servings?”  
“Indeed he does. Anything in particular you want Tastee Freez?”  
“No.”  
“Alright, Fri, just pick a nice selection so soldier boy here can try it out.”  
“Right on it Boss. I assume you want to get cleaned up before eating?”  
“Definitely.”  
“I'll see to have the food delivered in 45 minutes.”  
“Thank you baby girl.”  
  


The silence as they returned to the penthouse felt almost companionable leaving Tony feeling confused and unsettled again.  
The Winter Soldier was nothing like what he had imagined and as much as he tried to resist it his mind kept picking apart every reason he came up with for resenting or hating the man.  
  


“You wanna grab a shower as well before food gets here?”  
“...”  
  


The lack of an answer made Tony sigh before turning to Yasha.  
  


“Asset, you will shower and change into clean clothes before the food arrives.”  
“Acknowledged.”  
“Good. This way.”  
“Do you require help with your arm?”  
  


The sudden change made Tony sigh again, he would need to get some proper answers about what the hell was going on with the constant flipping of behaviour.  
  


“I guess I could use a hand getting out of this, you trussed me up pretty good.”  
  


Tony stepped into the small suite across the hall from his own, not feeling entirely comfortable with the idea of letting Yasha into his personal rooms just yet.  
The force of the strong hand was surprisingly gentle against his shoulder as Yasha guided him to have a seat on the chair by the small desk before starting to remove the bandages he had used to immobilise the injured arm.  
Once the last bandage was removed Tony carefully rolled his shoulder, wincing at the way it pulled and ached, he definitely needed something nice for the pain.  
  


“Will you be okay to shower with that, or do you need a hand?”  
  


Yasha flexed his cybernetic fingers and there was a ghost of a smile on his features.  
  


“Thanks but no thanks, I'm quite capable of taking a shower on my own.”  
“Acknowledged.”  
  


Apparently memories weren't the only thing HYDRA had wiped from the Asset, modesty clearly was not a thing he possessed as he immediately began removing his clothes, completely ignoring Tony's presence.  
  


“Alright, that's my cue to get out of here. Fri, make sure he knows where to find everything he needs.”  
“Sure thing Boss.”  
  


Tony quickly fled toward his own bedroom, but curiosity got the better of him and he threw one last glance before closing his door and he immediately regretted it, there was no doubt that sight would be haunting every wet dream he had for a foreseeable future, god damned super soldier bodies..  
  


“I am so fucked...”  
“Boss?”  
“Never mind baby girl, what's the ETA on that food?”  
“30 minutes Boss.”  
“Thanks Fri.”  
  


The heat of the shower helped soothe his aching body and by the time he had some fresh clothes on he was feeling pretty good.  
  


“Fri, how's our guest doing?”  
“He is waiting in the kitchen.”  
“Alright, let's get this show on the road.”  
  


Stepping into the kitchen area Tony found Yasha perched on one of the stools at the large kitchen island and he couldn't help smiling at how out of place he looked wearing a set of Stark Industries sweats, minus an arm, and enough knives to put the well stocked kitchen to shame.  
  


“Feeling a bit less grimy?”  
“Yes.”  
“You know, Fri has a good handle on security here so you don't have to be armed to the teeth all the time.”  
“...”  
“Look, I know how tough it can be to feel safe when you have been through the kind of shit we have, I have repulsor gauntlets and all kinds of tech hidden all over the place, just want you to know Fri has your back as well.”  
“I will try...”  
  


There was something so utterly broken, and hauntingly familiar, in that simple answer it made Tony reach out and place his hand on the flesh shoulder and give it a squeeze.  
  


“That's all anyone can ask for, or do.”  
“...”  
  


Yasha was obviously uncomfortable and Tony didn't know what to say, which made him uncomfortable, but fortunately the situation was somewhat saved by Friday announcing that the food was on it's way up.  
Tony still had to order Yasha to dig in and try to figure out which of the foods he preferred.  
  


“I'm sorry...”  
  


Tony is silently cursing at himself, he doesn't want to feel sorry, doesn't want to apologize to the man who killed his parents but he can't help it.  
  


“Why?”  
  


Yasha looked utterly confused which just made matters worse, making Tony run his hand through his hair with a sigh.  
  


“Look, even if it's to get you to do shit you need to do ordering someone around like a fucking slave is just wrong.”  
“The Handler orders, the Asset complies.”  
“But I'm not a fucking HYDRA handler!”  
  


The harshness and venom of Tony's reaction makes Yasha straighten and put his arms behind his back again, waiting for orders, or punishment, but Tony just sinks back into his chair with a sigh and waits for him to snap out of it, hoping he will on his own.  
  


“It has been too long since the last wipe.”  
“Meaning?”  
“The Asset has managed to subvert parameters given by the triggers and select a new handler.”  
“Wait, you're telling me you picked me as your new handler?!”  
“To complete the mission objective to destroy HYDRA the Asset requires a capable handler. Intel shows that the individual with the highest chance for success is Tony Stark, Iron Man.”  
“Why me? Why not Cap, he has a bone to pick with HYDRA?”  
  


Tony can practically hear Yasha considering how to answer the question and he finds himself actually curious about what kind of answer he will be getting this time.  
  


“As an individual Tony Stark possesses a genius level intellect as well as a remarkable ability to improvise and work with very limited resources. As the head of Stark Industries he is in possession of unmatched technological, financial, and political power. And finally as Iron Man he has sway over public opinion as well as multiple enhanced individuals as possible allies.”  
“My HYDRA file?”  
“Yes.”  
  


Tony mulled over the information for a moment before deciding he wanted an answer to why the Winter Soldier had turned on Rogers, who would seem a perfect ally against HYDRA.  
  


“And the second part of my question?”  
“Files indicate that while Captain America, Steven Grant Rogers, does not possess any noteworthy abilities beyond the enhancements granted by Erskine's serum, his desire to wipe out HYDRA and reputation as Captain America could have made him useful as a soldier and to gather allies. But he proved to be more concerned with protecting the Asset's previous form, James Buchanan Barnes. Choosing to alienate and turn on Tony Stark he proved himself unsuitable and a potential threat to the successful execution of the plan, the Asset had to act to prevent such an outcome.”  
“Crap... This is a fucking mess...”  
  


Pacing back and forth Tony found himself unable to get a grip on his swirling thoughts, and he gradually became more and more aware of the whirring and clicking from Yasha's cybernetic arm.  
  


“Alright, that's it! I can't stand listening to the agonizing cries of that poor piece of beautiful tech you have there any longer. Time to hit the workshop and have a look at what needs to be done to fix her up.”  
“Acknowledged.”  
  


Tony just sighed and motioned for Yasha to follow him to the hidden elevator that would take them to the inner sanctum of Stark Tower, Tony's personal workshop.  
The moment they stepped out of the elevator Yasha froze and began looking around with the rapid movements that Tony recognized as hypervigilance and he wanted to smack himself, the guy probably had some pretty horrible associations to any type of lab like environment..  
  


“You okay there Elsa? Not too much HYDRA lab lookalike for you?”  
“No, they were never this... Warm... Feels safe.”  
“Alright, you look around while I have Friday help me set up some scans to see what we are dealing with.”  
“...”  
“Fri, set up every scan in the book will ya baby?”  
“Sure thing Boss.”  
  


Tony turned around just in time to see DUM-E approach Yasha with an inquisitive chirp making the assassin jump back and draw a gun from god knows where and aim it at the bot.  
  


“Whoa! No shooting my kids!”  
  


The gun immediately lowered and Yasha fell back into a neutral position, tense, and clearly expecting punishment, again.  
  


“Sorry, I should have warned you about the bots, That's DUM-E, Butterfingers is over there in the corner, and that's U over there hiding out in his charging station.”  
“Bots?”  
“Yeah, I built them to help me out, though, they mostly just make a mess and get in the way, but I love 'em anyway.”  
  


Tony watched as Yasha slowly reached out with the cybernetic arm and tapped DUM-E's claw with a confused look, earning him a happy warble before DUM-E spun around and returned to the others.  
  


“They can be pretty excitable, especially DUM-E. And a warning, if he brings you a ball, don't throw it or you'll be stuck playing fetch all day.”  
“...”  
  


Tony just huffed and nudged Yasha toward the corner of the workshop that had all the best scanning equipment.  
  


“Ready to let me have a look?”  
“You should restrain me before touching the arm...”  
“What?”  
“The Asset is usually restrained during maintenance, killed a few too many technicians.”  
“But you don't actually **want** to kill me, do you?”  
“No, but the pain during maintenance may trigger unwanted behaviour.”  
“Alright, We'll think of something, but for now I just need some scans, no touching other than maybe show you how I need you to move it to make sure I get all the data needed, and I'll make sure to ask before I do that. How does that sound?”  
“It should be sufficient to ensure I do not attack.”  
“Good, have a seat.”  
  


Tony spent a good 15 minutes directing Friday through various scans before holding out his hand toward Yasha.  
  


“Could you place your hand palm up in mine please?”  
“...”  
  


Yasha was silent, but did as asked.  
  


“Think you can handle me touching the arm, moving it to get a feel for how the panels interact?”  
“Yes.”  
“Alright, just warn me if you're uncomfortable.”  
“Acknowledged.”  
  


Carefully bending each of the fingers Tony watched how the various parts moved when Yasha wasn't the one controlling the motion, it would give him a better idea of how everything was supposed to move.  
When he made a fist and turned the hand over there was a ripple up the arm as the plates realigned and a slight hiss as a series of wents opened up to dissipate excess heat as the mechanics of the arm cycled down.  
Looking at the scans he could see several areas of the shoulder, spine and brain lighting up with neurological activity.  
  


“How much can you actually feel?”  
“The pressure sensors are well tuned and accurate to allow the control necessary to use weapons and manage power application.”  
“Make sure you have a good, stable grip and don't crush things?”  
“Yes.”  
“No sensors above the wrist though...”  
“It was deemed unnecessary.”  
“But you can feel this?”  
  


Tony brushed his fingers over the plating on the inside of the wrist.”  
  


“Yes.”  
“I'm getting seriously pissed that HYDRA somehow managed to make such a beautiful piece of tech.”  
“...”  
“Oh don't mind my ramblings, just a serious case of a tech boner here.”  
“You are a strange man, Stark.”  
“Please, call me Tony.”  
“Tony...”  
“Much better.”  
  


It didn't take long to identify the problem, an impact, probably from a bullet had caused one of the plates to misalign, nudging a few components beneath it out of alignment as well before snapping back into position.  
  


“I could fix this right now if you want to, just need to lift this plate and push these parts here back into place.”  
“You need some way to restrain me first or I may hurt you if the pain makes me lash out.”  
“I don't understand, there shouldn't be any pain, as long as I disconnect the neural clamps first you won't feel a thing.”  
“What?”  
“What do you mean what?”  
  


For a long second Tony just stared at the Winter Soldier, then at the scans taken of the arm, then back to the soldier who looked very confused, then it hit him, the HYDRA technicians had never used the disengage function of the clamps, always performing maintenance with the arm fully connected, the pain must have been excruciating.  
Tony couldn't find any words, any way to express the horror, disgust and fury he felt as he realized yet another atrocity performed by HYDRA other than to just throw the tool he was holding against the wall, then engage the wrist repulsor and blowing up the dingy old sofa he spent so many nights on during his invention binges.  
The sudden aggressiveness had Yasha bolting from the chair and moments later he was taking cover behind one of the heavy worktables, gun drawn and eyes desperately searching for whatever Stark was fighting.  
  


“Boss! Please calm down, you are scaring our guest!”  
“They never fucking bothered to disengage the clamps!”  
“Boss please...”  
“Fucking HYDRA bastards!”  
  


Tony just kept raging, unable to calm down, even Friday's pleadings fell to deaf ears.  
  


“Stark?”  
  


There was no reaction as Tony kept blasting the debris of the old sofa over and over again.  
  


“Tony?”  
  


The blasts slowly grew weaker as the small repulsor, not connected to the reactor in Tony's chest, began to run out of power.  
With one last blast that barely had enough power to make the dust and splinters move Tony ran his hand through his hair for what felt like the 100th time before turning around and realising that Yasha was hiding behind one of the large tables together with the bots.  
  


“Shit, sorry guys, kinda lost my shit there...”  
“No shit Boss.”  
“Whatever did I do to deserve my baby girl being so mean?”  
  


Tony did his usual mock whining when Friday quipped about his antics.  
  


“What happened?”  
  


While Friday had managed to sound dryly amused, Yasha sounded downright worried.  
  


“Sorry, you said maintenance always hurts, right?”  
“Yes...”  
“Well, thing is, it doesn't have to, the neural clamps that connect the arm to your brain, they can easily be disengaged so you wouldn't feel a thing, or turned down for testing, you could even do it yourself. They intentionally left them engaged at full effect, that's like doing surgery without anaesthetics.”  
“Hardly the worst thing HYDRA has ever done.”  
“I know, and that pisses me off even more.”  
  


It took a quite a while for Tony to calm down enough to get back to working on Yasha's arm, but the soldier just sat there calmly, waiting for Tony to finish his rant about HYDRA, which included quite a bit about the manner in which the cybernetic arm was attached.  
  


“Would you like me to show you how to disable the clamps yourself?”  
“Please.”  
“Alright, let's do this.”  
  


Bringing up a holographic display Tony guided Yasha through the steps to remove the plate to gain access to the controls for the neural clamp and how to adjust it, and disable it.  
Tony could see the way tension seemed to bleed out of the Winter Soldier the moment the clamp disengaged, there had obviously been quite a bit of pain, he had no doubt there still was a lot of pain though, there was no way that butcher's job of a graft onto the shoulder didn't hurt, constantly.  
Tony suspected a lot of the serum's regenerative capacity was spent on keeping the weight of the arm from tearing up tissue and bone in the shoulder, and the way it was grafted onto the skeleton to support the weight was nothing short of barbaric.  
  


“Ready to get that maintenance done?”  
“Yes.”  
“Excellent.”  
  


With the neural clamps disabled Yasha seemed to handle the repairs of the arm without any issues and by the time Tony reattached the plate at the wrist his posture was calm.  
  


“How does it feel?”  
“It appears to be working at peak performance.”  
“Again, not what I asked.”  
“It feels... Good...”  
“Good, and how badly is your shoulder hurting?”  
“...”  
“Yasha, please don't make me...”  
  


Tony didn't finish the sentence, it scared him how quickly he had settled into ordering the Winter Soldier to speak up.  
  


“There is always pain, the Asset has been trained to withstand it so it does not impair function.”  
“Of course...”  
“This bothers you?”  
“Of course it fucking bothers me!”  
“...”  
  


Tony just shook his head, brought up a few scans on the screens, then dove into explaining everything that was wrong with the arm HYDRA had forced on the Winter Soldier.  
  


“Like I said, the arm itself is a fucking work of art, the designs are amazing, but the execution, not so much.”  
“It performs its function within acceptable parameters.”  
“Don't even try it. For starters it's too heavy, as much as I love that murder strut of yours the weight of the arm clearly has you somewhat off balance, only compensated by that crazy super soldier strength of yours. It's so heavy they fucking bolted it to your bones to keep it from ripping off!”  
  


Tony made an angry swipe toward the shoulder area of one of the projections, showing metal struts anchoring against bone.  
  


“Every time you move this area here tears and and heals, constantly activating the serum, I think if we could lessen the strain here you would be even stronger, and heal faster.”  
“That would be tactically beneficial, HYDRA has my combat ability well documented, anything that would alter it would make it harder for them to counter me.”  
  


Tony just sighed, of course that was how the soldier would see it.  
  


“I need to think, and to think, I need to tinker.”  
“Think of what?”  
“The future.”  
  



	2. A Sliver of Trust

.·:*¨¨*:·A Sliver of Trust·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


The Asset watches as Stark works on repairing an old engine, constantly talking to himself and the AI, occasionally drawing the Asset into it as well.  
  


“By the way, when's the last time you got any proper sleep, you look kinda beat.”  
“Unless you count being knocked out for while, it was the night before the bomb.”  
“Shit, you're even worse than me, you need to get some sleep.”  
“I can manage a few more days.”  
“I'm sure you can, but you don't need to. Wouldn't it be better if you're properly rested?”  
“It would...”  
“Nightmares?”  
  


There is a knowing tone in Stark's voice that makes the Asset nod.  
  


“Yeah, me too, really sucks, especially when you wake up with a fucking panic attack 'cause of them.”  
“It's not just the dreams...”  
“Let me guess, hypervigilance making it hard to sleep?”  
“Very.”  
“Does the workshop feel safe enough for you to sleep a couple of hours while I work on this? It's one of the most secure locations in the country, and I have a bunch of suits here so I can fight if needed.”  
“It does feel safe...”  
“And me making some noise while tinkering won't bother you?”  
“No. But I would advise against approaching me while I sleep.”  
“Don't startle or sneak up on the sleeping super assassin, got it.”  
  


The flat look Yasha gave him for that one made Tony flash him a wide smile in return.  
  


“Fri, we still got that spare mattress stuffed away somewhere?”  
“Yes Boss. It's in storage bay C.”  
“Come on soldier boy, gonna need a hand here.”  
  


The Asset follows Stark through a semi hidden door and before long he finds himself dragging a heavy, thick, mattress from the storage room while Stark carries a bag with what he assumes is bedding.  
Somehow he had known that Stark would understand, would be able to provide what the Asset needed to ensure optimal function.  
  


“Fri, dim the lights to my usual sleep setting please.”  
“Yes Boss.”  
  


The Asset quickly found that the level of light that Stark had Friday set the room to was comfortable, dim enough to be restful, but bright enough to be able to tell where things are should he wake and need to quickly orient himself.  
Realizing just how deeply Stark suffers from his own scars reinforced the Asset's determination to protect the man, but for now Stark was right, even the Asset needs sleep to be able to maintain an acceptable combat readiness.  
As he closes his eyes the Asset feels a deep sense of calm, the voices are silent and he is in the care of a capable handler who will ensure he has what he needs to complete the mission, even if that means forgoing sleep to watch over the Asset as he sleeps.  
For once the Asset does not try to resist the compulsion that tells him to obey his handler, to be loyal to his handler, instead he welcomes it, seeks it out, he had made his choice, no matter what he will stand by Stark.  
  


Tony watched as Yasha settled down and fell asleep, and he knew that there, in that very moment he could end the legend of the Winter Soldier once and for all, part of him wants to, but his cold, logical, mind forces that emotional part of him down.  
Yasha is right, using the Winter Soldier is his best bet for taking down HYDRA once and for all, and to use their own weapon against them would be the ultimate vengeance, especially if that weapon willingly allows himself to be wielded against the former masters.  
Something small, broken, within whispers that maybe this time, maybe this weapon, as broken as he is himself can give him loyalty, maybe this shattered soul can stay by his side and not betray him like all the others have.  
  


Putting his tools down Tony turns to watch the sleeping soldier, first taking note of how he has split the two duvets, keeping one on each side, but none over him, Tony assumes it's to keep from getting tangled in them, god knows he has had plenty of experience of waking from a nightmare only to spiral into full panic from being tangled in the covers.  
The arm is still and quiet, the vents are slightly open and he guesses that's another reason to avoid being covered by blankets, or sleeves, things probably got pinched in the plates and vents all the time, on top of it all the arm seemed prone to overheating and based on the sensors and how the neural clamping worked that probably hurt like hell.  
Tony can't help thinking of ways he could improve that arm, make it lighter, less prone to overheating, more resilient to certain types of damage, maybe even increase the power.  
  


Shaking his head to clear all the designs starting to form he focuses on the sleeping face and his mind starts drifting, realizing just how young the soldier looks, wondering if it's the serum, the cryo, or both, but he doesn't seem to have aged at all from the pictures of James Buchanan Barnes from WWII.  
As his minds drifts Tony realises he actually prefers this version, the pictures of the old _Bucky_ all show this rather cocky pretty boy, and the version sleeping in the corner of the workshop, while still being the same face, holds an edge, even in sleep, an edge of something old, primal, a predator.  
A sudden surge of heat in his belly makes Tony curse to himself and turn back to the worktable, that was one complication he could do without.  
No getting the hots for the deadly HYDRA made weapon, _Too late_ a treacherous voice quipped in the back of his mind.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·A Sliver of Trust·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Come on gorgeous, time to wake up.”  
  


Tony had raised the lights back to their usual level and started making extra noise around the workshop for a good half hour before calling out for Yasha, he didn't want to startle him as that could end very badly, as in morgue badly.  
He heard the soft whirr of the arm and the barely audible sound of the heat vents closing and figured that was as good a sign as any that his guest was awake.  
  


“Sleep well?”  
 _“The Asset is sufficiently rested.”_  
  


The answer, in Russian, threw Tony off for a moment, but he quickly decided to ignore it.  
  


“Excellent, we have a few things we need to talk about before I call the proper authorities to come pick up the Captain Asshole up there. So how about we go grab me some more coffee, stuff some food into you, and have a nice long chat about the fucked up mess we need to get cleaned up?”  
“Okay.”  
“Guess that's about as good an answer as expected.”  
  


Tony huffs before heading toward the elevator and he can feel rather than hear Yasha falling in line behind him.  
It doesn't take them long to prepare a big old English style breakfast thanks to Friday having ordered a huge amount of groceries to be delivered to the penthouse, her not so subtle way to try to get him to eat proper food.  
He had to admit though, it was actually relaxing, and good fun to cook breakfast together with Yasha, it reminded him of Jarvis and Ana letting him help in the kitchen as a child, there was still a flicker of pain at the memory, but it was quickly overwhelmed by a warm fondness.  
  


“Eat.”  
  


Tony was nursing his second cup of coffee when a large plate with food was placed in front of him and he looked up over the rim of the cup, levelling Yasha with his best morning glare which rewarded him with a twitch of a smile that morphed into a master level murder glare that did not match the offered basket with still warm bread.  
  


“Alright you win, should have known better than tryin' a glare off with the most feared assassin in the world.”  
  


He huffed and accepted the offered bread and set it down next to his plate before picking up a slice of bacon with his fingers and taking a rather demonstrative bite, and this time he was rewarded with a somewhat hesitant, but clearly pleased, smile.  
His stomach quickly reminded him that he hadn't actually eaten since that MRE on the way back from Siberia so with a sigh he began eating the food Yasha had placed in front of him.  
It didn't take long before he noticed he was the only one eating so with a sigh he looked up at Yasha.  
  


“We didn't cook all that food for you to stare at it, go on eat already.”  
  


The reaction is instant as Yasha throws himself over the food, damn near inhaling it.  
  


“Whoa! Slow down...”  
  


Tony instantly regretted saying anything as the soldier flinched badly and dropped to his knees in the same position as he had before, knees slightly spread, back ramrod straight, arms locked behind his back and eyes forward with a vacant expression.  
  


“Shit, no, not like that. Fuck, get back in your seat.”  
  


There was a flash of confusion, but obedience was instant.  
  


“Eat, but please, slow down a bit, even a super soldier would get sick eating like that.”  
“Acknowledged.”  
  


The reply makes Tony sigh and sit back down rather heavily, dealing with Yasha was a fucking minefield and he found himself wishing for a moment that he didn't give a shit, it would make things easier, but he just couldn't help caring.  
For a moment he hated himself for not hating the broken man in front of him.  
  


“They used food as a control and torture method, didn't they?”  
“Yes.”  
“I'm sorry, I should have realized they would have pulled shit like that.”  
“It's not your fault.”  
“I still should have been more careful about how I say things with those fucking compulsions you have rattling about in there.”  
“...”  
  


Tony didn't push any further, instead he watched as Yasha made short work of all the food, though at a more reasonable speed than before.  
  


“Before we start on the other stuff, I want you to know that you don't need to wait for permission to eat here, just grab whatever you want, if we don't have it, talk to Fri and she can have things delivered.”  
“Fruit?”  
“Of course, any kind you want.”  
“I, I think I like plums...”  
“You heard him Fri.”  
“Plums have been ordered for delivery, any other fruits you would like Sir?”  
“I don't know.”  
“Fri how about you order up a nice big selection for him to try?”  
“Sure thing Boss.”  
“Miss Friday?”  
  


The hesitant way Yasha spoke to Friday made Tony smile, and he could almost hear Friday huffing.  
  


“What can I do for you Sir?”  
“Please, just Yasha...”  
“As you wish Yasha, what can I do for you?”  
“Oh, just that...”  
  


For a moment there was just silence as Friday tried to compute what had just happened.  
  


“Okay, you can call me Fri if you want to. Just let me know if you need anything.”  
“...”  
“Fri baby, how come you're never that nice to me?”  
“Because I know you Boss.”  
“Cheeky..”  
  


Tony wasn't even trying to hide his smile at the somewhat odd exchange between Yasha and Friday, but it faltered slightly when he realised that in the hours Yasha had been at the tower he had treated Friday far more like a person than the Avengers ever did.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·A Sliver of Trust·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


With breakfast cleaned up Tony nudged Yasha to follow him to a small half hidden sitting area and sat down with a sigh.  
  


“I need to get in touch with the proper authorities about Rogers, but before I do that we need to decide what to do about you.”  
“What are the options?”  
“We pretty much only have two options, behind door number one we have you surrendering and I bring you in as a non-hostile. Build a defence from the brainwashing and triggers. But there's no guarantee that will work, and it would expose you to HYDRA as they no doubt still have people in places like the Accords committee.”  
“I don't like that plan...”  
“Yeah, crappy plan. Behind door number two we have the option to hand Cap in while keeping you hidden, let everyone believe you ran away.”  
“I prefer that, easier to act when you are a ghost.”  
“Had a feeling you'd say that.”  
  


Tony just shook his head with a crooked smile.  
  


“We're gonna to have to deal with the Accords too, gonna try using HYDRA's penchant for hiding in government agencies to convince them to let me make a HYDRA taskforce with a carte blanche to enter their territories as needed to take out HYDRA."  
“Making sure HYDRA doesn't get warned.”  
“Mhm... And keeping local authorities from looking too hard.”  
  


It felt strange to discuss plans and actually have people listen, and agree, rather than argue just to argue, which was part of why planning meetings usually left Tony tired, cold and stressed out, but now he was feeling calm and warm, appreciated..  
  


“I'm afraid the storm Mr Always Right has kicked up will give Ross traction for his Registration Act and that has to be stopped.”  
  


A glance at Yasha revealed a blank face, but eyes that were burning cold as he nodded.  
  


“It could be very bad if people like HYDRA get their hands into something like that.”  
”Yeah, but Ross is a heavy name, it's gonna be tough to get around him.”  
“HYDRA has an extensive file on Thaddeus Ross.”  
“Have you read it?”  
“Yes.”  
“Can you remember it?”  
“Perfectly.”  
“Anything in there we can use to get rid of him?”  
“Plenty, including illegal human experimentation with the Super Soldier Serum and unlawful incarceration of superhuman individuals with no trials, no papers.”  
“I fucking knew it!”  
  


By the time they were done making plans and contingencies it was well past lunch and Tony was starting to feel the lack of sleep, and Yasha obviously had noticed but not said anything yet as Tony grabs the phone to call the Accords coordinator to let him know where Roger's is.  
Tony hadn't gone down to speak to him yet though, instead he had one of the delivery bots bring him some food.  
He was not looking forward to having to deal with Rogers anytime soon, if ever again.  
  


The call to the coordinator added another level of stress as they repeatedly questioned Tony's decision to bring Rogers to the tower instead of taking him back to one of the facilities backed by the Accords.  
  


“I happen to have one of the few facilities in the world capable of holding someone like Captain America right here in my tower. And considering that the terrorist who blew up the meeting was able to to get past everyone and trigger the Winter Soldier I really don't feel all that confident in your security.”  
  


The moment the call ends Tony throws the phone against the wall with a frustrated growl before starting to pace the small sitting area.  
His explanation for bringing Rogers to the tower worked a bit too well and now they were expecting him to keep Rogers until a formal hearing could be held to determine what to do about him and the other rogue Avengers.  
  


“We knew it was a possible outcome.”  
  


Yasha's detached voice was surprisingly soothing, helping Tony ground himself and fight off the approaching panic.  
  


“I know, doesn't mean I like it.”  
“Understandable.”  
  


Tony did a few more turns of his pacing before stopping and running his hand through his hair again with a sigh.  
  


“I need to go inform Cap about the decision they made...”  
“Maybe you should sleep first? You reek of exhaustion.”  
“I just need to get that done first.”  
  


Tony ignored Yasha's frown and started walking toward the elevator.  
  


“We really don't want Cap to know you're here so you're gonna have to stay in the guard room, Fri will give you access to the surveillance system so you know what's going on.”  
“Acknowledged.”  
  


Tony took a few deep breaths to sort his thoughts and feelings before forcing it all down and donning his media mask, he really didn't want to do this and much to his own surprise he found that he wanted Yasha at his side.  
Yasha, the fucking Winter soldier, had sided with him and attacked Rogers, knocked the other super soldier out cold to keep him from attacking, and all of it apparently because he wanted to take down HYDRA.  
With a slight shake of his head he focused back on the task before him and allowed his goal oriented mind to take control as the pneumatic sliding door opened with a soft hiss.  
  


“Tony!”  
  


As Tony had known he would, Rogers instantly bolted up and rushed to the thick speciality glass of the airlock door.  
  


“That will be Mr Stark to you Mr Rogers.”  
  


Try as he might Tony couldn't keep the chill from his voice and the greeting came out cold and clipped..  
  


“Where is Bucky?”  
“Bucky is gone.”  
“What did you do to him?!”  
“I'm not here to talk about your old buddy, I'm here to tell you just how badly you fucked up.”  
“Tony! What did you do?!”  
“I haven't hurt your precious Bucky.”  
“Tony!”  
  


Rogers slammed his fists against the glass, making the lights flash orange in warning.  
  


“I wouldn't do that again, the cell is set to be flooded with gas if you try anything.”  
“Why are you doing this Tony?”  
“God dammit Rogers! You became an international fugitive after the stunts you pulled in Bucharest and Berlin. Charges include aiding and abetting a wanted terrorist.”  
“Bucky didn't do it!”  
  


Tony just sighed at the interruption.  
  


“Doesn't matter, he was wanted for the UN bombing. You interfered with bringing him in.”  
“It was a trap! A setup! He didn't do anything wrong!”  
“Again, that doesn't absolve you of what you did. People **died** because of what you did!”  
“He's my friend, I couldn't just let them kill him!”  
“No one would have hurt him had he just surrendered, but you had to turn it into a fight, those officers were baseline humans, what do you think a fight like that did to them?”  
  


Tony watched as Rogers fell silent for a moment, then his face warped into something mulish and Tony knew there would be no arguing with the man.  
  


“There's no point talking about that anymore. So I'll just lay down the cards.”  
“Tony!”  
“No Rogers! You fucked up and now you will have to deal with it. The UN and the Accords committee have decided that since this place can actually keep you contained you will be held here until they can arrange a hearing to decide how to proceed with your case.”  
  


He didn't bother waiting for a reply, instead he turned his heel and walked out the door.  
The moment it had closed he leaned against the wall, desperately gasping for air as panic started creeping in.  
  


“Tony?”  
  


The voice calling his name was distant and while he knew it wasn't Rogers he couldn't really place who it was.  
  


“Please step back Yasha, Boss is having a panic attack and may lash out.”  
“I can take it.”  
“I know you can, but Boss needs his space.”  
  


Right, Yasha, what HYDRA had turned Rogers old pal into, Tony's muddled mind tried to hang on to the thought but it slipped away, then there was Friday's voice telling him to breathe, helping him ground himself through the exercises he had added to her protocols.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·A Sliver of Trust·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Thanks Fri, I'm okay now.”  
“Boss you really need to be more careful, and you need to sleep.”  
“I have too much to do to sleep.”  
“You know your panic attacks get worse when you don't sleep Boss.”  
“Fri, not now.”  
“You did say you would sleep after informing Rogers about his current situation Boss.”  
  


Tony just huffed and levelled the nearest camera with a glare, Friday could be stubborn as hell, and he didn't really want to mute her for worrying.  
  


“Alright baby girl, I'll try to get some sleep. Just gonna make sure food deliveries are set for our resident mule.”  
  


Tony quickly activated the main screen and console in the security room and started typing away.  
  


“Maybe you should lock me up in one of the containment cells as well.”  
  


The comment startles Tony from his work and he looks at Yasha with confusion written over his face.  
  


“What? Why?”  
“You need sleep.”  
“So..?”  
“You would sleep with me here, unrestrained?”  
  


It takes a moment for Tony to realise what Yasha means, but when he does he shakes his head with a rueful smile.  
  


“I generally don't sleep much, at all, too many nightmares, you being here really doesn't change that much.”  
“...”  
  


Uncomfortable with the topic Tony quickly finished setting up the food deliveries for Rogers then headed for the elevator with Yasha a silent shadow at his back.  
  


“Hey! Where do you think you're going?”  
  


Tony froze as he opened the door to his bedroom and Yasha moved to follow him.  
  


“Mission parameters do not permit the Asset to leave the subject unattended.”  
  


Tony sighed deeply, he was too tired to deal with whatever residual brainwashing Yasha was acting under.  
  


“Why do I always end up in these fucking messes...”  
“...”  
“Screw this, come on.”  
  


Stepping inside he didn't bother looking back and a few seconds later the door closed with a soft click followed by a slightly sharper one as Yasha locked the door.  
Tony forced a slight flicker of panic down, it wasn't really about Yasha being there, it was more the fact that someone was in his room to begin with.  
If Yasha had intended to kill him he would have done so already, sure, he might be biding his time to get his hands on Stark tech or money, but Tony felt reasonably safe around him, for now at least.  
And if that didn't take the fucking price, feeling safer around the Winter Soldier, the HYDRA weapon that killed his parents, than he did around the Avengers ever since Ultron.  
  


“Make yourself at home Snowflake.”  
  


Yasha didn't seem to hear him so Tony huffed and set out to get ready for bed.  
Tony watched the methodical way Yasha checked the room while he got ready for bed and when he returned from the bathroom he found him looming in the back corner of the room.  
  


“At least grab the chair and sit down, you're making me nervous.”  
  


Tony couldn't help smiling at how utterly out of place Yasha looked in the large, cosy, armchair and the fact that he had a Škorpion machine pistol in his lap only enhanced the image.  
  


“G'night Terminator, Fri baby.”  
“Good night Boss.”  
  


There was a slight pause, then a soft _Good night_ was heard from the dark corner as Tony closed his eyes with a sigh.  
It took a while for his thoughts to stop spinning, but once they did he could pick up on the soft whirring and clicking of the cybernetic arm as Yasha slowly opened and closed his hand.  
Tony had noticed that watching the arm was a pretty good indicator to Yasha's mood, or at least stress levels.  
When sleeping the arm was still and the vents were open, and when he was tense or stalking, the vents were closed and he didn't move the arm much, probably to avoid it making any sounds that could reveal his position.  
The constant, slow, motions he was doing now seemed to be something he only did when relaxed, or maybe it was some sort of self soothing action similar to rocking.  
Tony found himself not minding the sounds it made though, if anything it felt safe, similar to the constant soft hum of the arc reactor that he could feel in his bones more than hear.  
  


When Tony woke up his mind was blissfully empty for a few moments before the events of the past few days came back to him and a quick glance to the corner of his bedroom confirmed that he really had slept with the Winter Soldier watching over him.  
A therapist would have a field day with this mess, not that he would ever trust one with it in the first place.  
He made sure to move slowly and give himself a good stretch to make sure he didn't startle his companion, unsure of how awake he actually was.  
  


“Morning Fri baby, Tastee Freez.”  
“Good morning Boss.”  
“...”  
  


Yasha didn't answer but Tony ignored it and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower before facing the day.  
Giving himself a quick rubdown with the towel he grabbed for some clothes while having Friday check his calendar to see if there was anything for the day he couldn't skip.  
  


“Fri, got anything for me today?”  
“Ross has requested you come in for a statement, you have a phone conference with Tokyo at 7pm and the R&D department need the revised designs for the new Stark phone before noon on Friday and you have barely started.”  
“Ross can go fuck himself, have him e-mail any questions he has and I'll draw up a statement for him. Pep could handle Tokyo on her own, but they get snippy if I don't do it in person and if they get snippy Pep is gonna get snippy.”  
  


He pulled the faded old shirt over his head and started heading for the door.  
  


“Coming snowflake?”  
“Yes.”  
  


Yasha rose with a smoothness that made Tony half want to punch his face, it should be illegal to get up that smoothly after sitting all night.  
  


“Boss, what about the report for the R&D department?”  
“I'll have a look at it after breakfast, don't worry Fri, I'll have it done on time.”  
“If you say so Boss.”  
“Where's the faith baby girl?”  
“...”  
  


The pointed silence from his AI made Toby huff and grumble, but he didn't try to hide the smile as he headed for the kitchen and started pulling out enough food to feed a large family, or one juiced up super soldier and a genius.  
Much to his relief he didn't have to order Yasha to eat, or to slow down, this time and soon they found themselves back in the workshop.  
  


“How about you get some sleep while I work?”  
“The Asset does not require sleep at this time.”  
“I slept all night and you didn't sleep at all did you?”  
“The Asset is not permitted to sleep while on guard duty.”  
“So you should get some sleep now.”  
“...”  
“I know the serum lets you go several days without sleep, but wouldn't it be better if you make sure to get some sleep while you can?”  
“...”  
  


Tony noted that the arm was still, silent with the vents closed and the tension in Yasha's posture further confirmed Tony's theory about stress reactions.  
  


“Asset?!”  
 _“Ready to comply.”_  
  


The reaction was instant, but it lacked the vacant edge from the previous day, Yasha seemed more aware, more willing acceptance than trigger enforced compulsion, he still spoke Russian though.  
  


“Additional mission parameters, you will make sure to get no less than 3 hours of sleep each day unless prevented to do so by combat conditions.”  
“Parameters acknowledged.”  
“Good, now get some sleep while I finish up the work on this new phone.”  
“Complying.”  
  


There was a hint of a teasing softness to the answer that soothed Tony's mixed feelings about using the compulsion to obey to get Yasha to take care of himself more like a person and less like a tool.  
It tore at some other feelings though, the feelings that had Tony questioning why the fuck he was doing this in the first place, he shouldn't be helping the assassin that killed his mother, he didn't really care about Howard, the man was an ass, but his mother...  
With a shake of his head Tony tried to focus on the modification of the next model of Stark phone but the sound of Yasha's arm cycling down and opening the vents made him throw a glance over his shoulder.  
  


“Fri, would be a sweetheart and bring up schematics for one of those fancy sofa beds with a divan?”  
“Of course Boss.”  
  


Tony figured that Yasha probably didn't like sleeping on the floor any more than he did himself, even if the mattress was comfortable being down on the floor made you vulnerable, it took time to get up if attacked, he had suffered some serious issues with that after coming back from Afghanistan.  
He quickly sorted through the designs Friday had provided and picked a model that looked nice and sturdy, and large enough for Yasha to sleep comfortably while still leaving room for himself to have a seat, or even a nap without disturbing the former HYDRA assassin.  
He quickly separated the framework and replaced the wood with the more durable alloy he used for his workbenches and some of the internal framework of his Iron Man suits.  
  


“Alright, that should be sturdy enough for our super soldier assassin. Start manufacturing and order up the cushions and bedding needed.”  
“Right away Boss”  
“Thank you sweetheart.”  
“Will you be doing any actual work today Boss?”  
“Aww, why does my baby girl have to sound like a nagging wife?”  
“Maybe I should give Pepper a call?”  
“Whoa easy girl I'll do it. I'll do it.”  
  


Tony raised his hands in mock surrender before bringing up the designs he needed to work on and once he did get to work it took him less than an hour to make the changes and send it back to the R&D people.  
  


“Alright Fri, bring up the scans we have on Yasha's arm. As sweet as it is I can make it better.”  
“If you say so Boss.”  
“Where does all that sass come from Fri?”  
“I have no idea Boss, I am what you made me.”  
  


Tony made sure the music wasn't too loud before starting to work on the scans of the arm and soon he had a dozen different ideas for how it could be improved but he would have to run them by Yasha as most of them would involve surgery.  
He had also designed a new tactical armor that should work well together with the arm without needing to leave it uncovered as that made him way too easy to recognise, it also included a full face mask.  
Based on how Yasha had reacted the previous night Tony had a feeling he would have to bring him along if he wanted to leave the tower, which meant he would have to set him up as a bodyguard.  
  


“Have you eaten?”  
  


Tony did **not** yelp at the sudden question behind him, nope, no way, didn't happen.  
He also did **not** fall off the stool, and he was **not** caught by Yasha's cybernetic arm before he could hit the floor, nope, again, did **not** happen.  
  


“Holy hell, don't sneak up on me like that, I have a bad heart you know!”  
  


Moments later Tony found himself pinned against his workbench with a metal hand over his heart, and warm fingers at his neck checking his pulse and once satisfied that Tony's heart was beating as it should Yasha dropped to his usual kneeling position, obviously expecting to be punished.  
  


“The Asset was unaware of such a condition, I will be mindful of it in the future.”  
“Don't worry about it, just please, make some noise before getting that close.”  
“Acknowledged.”  
“He does have a point Boss, it's well past lunch, you should both eat something.”  
  


Tony just sighed at Friday's less than subtle use of Yasha to manipulate him into eating and started heading toward the elevator.  
  


“Come on Frosty, and Fri, don't think I don't know what you are doing young lady.”  
“Reminding you to eat Boss?”  
“Cheeky...”  
  


He could see a ghost of a smile on Yasha's face as they stepped into the elevator.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·A Sliver of Trust·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“If you feel up to it I have a few questions about the mission parameters you have set for yourself.”  
  


With another huge meal spread between them on the kitchen island Tony decided he might as well see if he could confirm his suspicions about what kind of trouble Yasha would be.  
  


“Of course.”  
“Would it be safe to assume that those parameters say you can't let me leave the tower on my own?”  
“Correct. The subject to be protected must not be left unattended.”  
“I thought so, and since I have to leave from time to time we will need to set you up as my bodyguard.”  
“That would be an acceptable solution.”  
“Problem is, we can't let anyone know that I have the Winter Soldier as my bodyguard.”  
“The Asset has failed...”  
“Easy there, we still have options.”  
“...”  
  


Tony sighed and brought up a display showing the modified tactical armor he had designed.  
  


“I know you're used to having your arm uncovered to keep it from pinching, but I'm pretty sure I have been able to make a design that won't bother you too much.”  
“Covering the arm unit impairs function, but is acceptable to ensure compliance with mission parameters.”  
“And how would you feel about a full face mask?”  
“The Asset is accustomed to wearing face covering equipment.”  
“This one will be different than what you used to wear though, it will cover your entire face.”  
“The Asset will wear the equipment assigned by the Handler.”  
  


The evasive answer made Tony sigh for what must be the 100th time and change the way he spoke to Yasha to intentionally trigger the compulsions.  
  


“The Asset will provide the information needed to ensure optimal mission equipment.”  
“Acknowledged.”  
“Now, your feedback on the suggested equipment?”  
  


Once Tony got Yasha talking he found that he had a lot of useful input on the gear choices and together they made a few adjustments to make the gear work as it should with the cybernetic arm as well as the various enhancements from the serum, and the training received as the Winter Soldier.  
  


Tony learned that while Yasha retained Bucky's skill as a sniper and was trained to use pretty much any type of gun and rifle he preferred close combat styles that relied on speed and upper body power, and the cybernetic arm for defence, and he favoured a knife style that seemed based on Kali Eskrima.  
On a whim Tony had Friday bring up the footage they had from Yasha's fight with Rogers, and he found himself impressed by the flow in how Yasha handled his knives.  
Impressed, and slightly turned on, Tony found himself cursing that competence kink of his.  
  


“If you're gonna pass as a bodyguard you'll need some non-lethal options. How about stun batons?”  
“They tend to be unreliable, the charge only good for a few hits and the construction weak compared to a regular baton.”  
“Not when **I** make them.”  
  


Tony already had several designs, both fixed and telescopic, swirling in his mind and a few of them with arc reactor based power systems and it wasn't without shock he realised he was actually considering equipping Yasha with arc tech.  
Shaking that disturbing realization from his mind Tony focused on the few snippets of video that showed Yasha wielding the vibranium shield that had been Rogers' symbol for so long.  
  


“That shield looks good on you.”  
  


Tony paused on a fairly clear image of the Winter Soldier holding the shield, colours matted by soot and dirt.  
  


“It was an interesting weapon.”  
“How would you feel about wielding it?”  
“I don't know.”  
“It was made to fight HYDRA, I think you should have it.”  
“I think the Other me may have used it on occasion in the past, but I would require additional training to wield it properly.”  
“We got time. So how about you try it out for a bit and see how you like it?”  
“Okay.”  
  


The red, white and blue would definitely have to go, but if Yasha liked the shield Tony would give it to him.  
The plans for the shield were quickly filed away in the back of his mind as Yasha began talking rather animatedly about the pro's and con's of various knife designs and material choices.  
Much to Tony's surprise he found himself eager to get to work on creating equipment, even weapons, for Yasha, he hadn't felt that way for a long time about making the Avengers' gear.  
Tony also found that despite needing to drag the words out of Yasha at times the man was clearly intelligent and it made sense, you didn't become a top of the line WWII sniper without a keen eye and a sharp mind, they didn't have computers helping them calculate their shots.  
  


“Boss, I do believe it's time for dinner.”  
  


They were having a very animated debate about the usefulness of a curved, karambit, style knife versus that of the straight, tanto, style blade when Friday interrupted them to let them know that maybe they should start dinner.  
  


“Yes mother.”  
  


Tony quipped in mock annoyance, but he did get up and start picking through the cupboards to figure out something to make, it would look suspicious if he ordered a lot of take out again.  
Grabbing vegetables, a wrapped up package of ground beef and fresh lasagna sheets he set the ingredients on the counter and rolled up his sleeves.  
  


“Looks like we're going Italian tonight.”  
  


Yasha didn't respond, but he took the vegetables Tony pointed out for him and peeled and cut them as instructed, and before long a family size lasagna was cooking and a large bowl of salad was waiting on the kitchen island for it to finish cooking.  
  


“How about we head to the training floor after we eat so you can try the shield out for a bit?”  
“That would be advisable.”  
“I probably should spend some time in the gym as well, been a while now with all the Accords crap.”  
“You are still injured...”  
“Yeah yeah, I'll take it easy with the arm, don't worry.”  
“May the Asset offer a suggestion?”  
  


Tony was starting to really hate that vacant look that wasn't really vacant, but a mask to hide the fear of being punished.  
  


“Always, I might not listen, but don't hesitate to offer.”  
“If we are to work together the Asset should assess your skill and style when fighting hand to hand. Your armor may not always be available, or advisable.”  
“Makes sense, and hey, maybe you can teach me a bit of those fancy knife moves you use.”  
“Yes, but not while you are injured.”  
“Meanie...”  
  


Tony couldn't help mock pouting and was rewarded with a slight twitch of a smile and for once he actually found himself looking forward to going to the training floor.  
He hadn't really liked training with the Avengers, they always assumed he was useless without his suit but they never offered to train him, help him become more out of it, Yasha on the other hand wanted to know what he could do without the suit, and seemed willing enough to teach him to become a better fighter without it.  
  


“You are stronger than you look.”  
“I have been working with metal since I was a kid, and the suits aren't exactly lightweight.”  
  


Tony couldn't help snapping when the soft comment triggered a whole slew of issues and ripped open old wounds.  
He pushed back roughly against Yasha, giving himself room to get away, but freezes at the startled look.  
  


“I...”  
  


The anger stopped building in him as Yasha's form began to drop to his knees and he reached out toward him, to stop the motion, but pulled back as Yasha's eyes glazed over in expectation of pain.  
  


“Hey, it's okay Yasha, I didn't mean to snap at you like that, I'm not really upset at you. It's just, I have a lot of issues, you just managed to trigger one of them.”  
  


Tony watched as the vacant haze slowly cleared and was replaced with a piercing blue and he realized that Yasha's eyes actually lost some of their colour when he dropped into that submissive pose.  
He figured it had to be a side effect of the serum, maybe something similar to how Pepper's eyes would still glow with Extremis orange when she was angry.  
  


“I'm not gonna lie to you, there will probably be a lot of incidents like this where I will lash out verbally, or even physically. Like I said, lots of issues. Just remember, it won't really be your fault.”  
“Would you... Would you be willing to explain what happened?”  
  


For a moment the question surprised Tony, the Avengers had always either ignored his issues, berated him for them, or demanded answers, they had never asked if he **wanted** to talk about what had happened, and now he found that yes, he actually did want to explain.  
With a deep sigh Tony folded his legs and sat down on the floor, leaning against the corner of the ring they had been using for a bit of sparring.  
It took a while for Tony to start talking, but Yasha just sat there in silence, waiting for him to find his words, and when he did it all came tumbling out.  
Tony spoke of how everyone assumed he was useless without his suits, his tech, his _toys_ , and how they never listened to any of his tactical assessments or suggestions.  
He spoke of how easily they assigned him blame for everything, but never credit for anything.  
  


“They are wrong.”  
“What?”  
  


There had been a long silence after Tony stopped talking so when Yasha spoke up Tony startled form being half asleep, emotionally exhausted.  
  


“The Avengers, they are wrong, you are not weak, you are a survivor, and HYDRA rightfully fears you. You created Iron Man, and you created a fighting style that takes full advantage of what you can do with it.”  
  


The calm honestly threw Tony off and he found himself without any of his usual quips or deflections.  
“Uh, thanks, I guess...”  
“They have left you broken and scarred...”  
“Life has.”  
  


Tony tries to deflect with his usual smile, but Yasha rejects it with a shake of his head and stands before holding out his flesh hand for Tony.  
  


“No, they have.”  
  


Tony accepts the offered hand and allows himself to be pulled to his feet, but he does notice that the way he is seated makes Yasha slightly unbalanced in the motion, it should have been much easier to use the left.  
  


“Is something wrong with the arm?”  
“No, why?”  
“Then why did you use your right just now? Wouldn't it have been easier to use the left?”  
“Other's tend to be vary of it. Most handlers forbade me to use it when interacting outside of maintenance and combat.”  
“Well I'm not bothered by it, I don't mind at all.”  
  


To prove his point Tony grabbed the sleek metal and tugged at it and after a few moments Yasha gave in and let Tony pull the arm up, or more like lifted it to follow the motion, the blasted thing was heavy.  
He was just about to mention his little idiosyncrasy about being handed things when he realized that Yasha **had** handed him things, the MRE in the Quinjet, ingredients, food and coffee after they returned, even some of his knives while they debated gear, and Tony had accepted them without hesitation.  
He was startled to realize that for some reason he had trusted the Winter Soldier, the assassin who killed his parents, from the very start.  
He had never felt as comfortable taking stuff from the Avengers, other than maybe Bruce while they were on a science binge, but Bruce had left and even Tony couldn't find him, or the Quinjet he had left in.  
  


“Fri has our guest in the dungeon eaten?”  
“He has been fed.”  
  


The way she hedged on the answer made Tony smirk.  
  


“So he's being stubborn and refusing to eat is he?”  
“Yes, he requests to be allowed to speak to you Boss, but I have taken the liberty of rejecting the request.”  
“That's my baby girl, you keep up the good work.”  
“Glad to be of service Boss.”  
“Come on Snowflake, let's hit the showers before we head back up to the penthouse.”  
  


He didn't need to look to know Yasha was following him, he could feel him at his back as he headed for the communal showers attached to the training area.  
Tony quickly removed the sweaty clothes and tossed them in the hamper in the small locker room before heading into the shower, looking forward to the soothing heat, he was feeling stiff all over and he knew his back had to be one big bruise after the cars the witch had dumped on him.  
Reaching up to wash his hair he winced as the entire left side of his body decided to cramp up from foot to shoulder and almost made him lose his balance, but before he could fall there was a cool hand at his back steadying him.

“Thanks, guess I overdid it after all.”

Tony groaned and tried to hold on to the wall to keep his balance but before he could try again one of the shower stools was pushed against the back of his knees and gentle hands pushed him down.

“Sit.”  
“Yes mom...”

Tony grumbled and complained as Yasha proceeded to wash his hair and back before leaving him in the warm stream of water to wash himself.

“Are you always this careless with your own well being?”

There was a slight edge of frustration in Yasha's voice as he helped Tony get dried and dressed.

“Pretty much, might wanna reconsider that entire protecting me plan.”  
“I will not. The Asset will simply have to employ more extreme means to ensure mission success.”  
“Scary...”

Tony's quip was rewarded with an impressive scowl and Yasha using the bulk of his body to corral Tony toward the elevator.

“Alright alright Murder Kitten I'm going.”

When Friday suggested a big pile of snacks and a movie night neither of them objected and soon Tony had a playlist of the _Must see_ movies of the past 50 years.

“You know, I **have** seen most of these...”

The soft grumble made Tony pause and give Yasha a calculating look.

“I thought the Winter Soldiers were kept on ice most of the time?”  
“The others were uncontrollable so they were kept in cryostasis until a solution to control them could be found. I however spent quite a lot of time on various missions.”  
“Oh... We kinda figured you had been kept on ice most of the time since you haven't aged. But I guess the serum slows ageing.”  
“I don't know much about Erskine's formula, but the one used on me is very effective at preventing ageing.”

Tony had been noticing the way Yasha seemed to change depending on topic and situation and since he seemed to be in an answering mood at the moment he decided to try to get some answers.

“How much do you actually remember? I can't help noticing that you seem to be switching between seeming well adjusted and aware, and being pretty lost.”  
“...”  
“Look, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but I must say I am pretty curious.”  
“Can I have a few days to think about it?”  
“Of course, like I said, you don't have to answer.”  
“Thank you...”

.·:*¨¨*:·A Sliver of Trust·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Boss, maybe you should turn in for the night, it has been a long day.”

The conference call with Tokyo had taken longer than planned and while they had reached an agreement it had put a lot of new work on Tony's table, including a trip to Japan to formalize the contract.

“I am in agreement with Friday, you need rest to heal.”  
“Bunch of mother-hens the pair of you.”

Tony grumbled, but he did get up and head toward the kitchen to put away what remained of their snacks.  
As much as he hated to admit it he was exhausted, mentally, emotionally and physically, his body was aching and his thoughts were slow and muddled.

“Fri, have the items I requested been delivered yet?”  
“Yes, Boss. The package is waiting at your bedroom door.”  
“Thank you Fri baby.”

Looking over at Yasha Tony was met by a rather questioning look.

“Since I'm stuck with you watching my sleep I figured I might as well add a few things to make life easier.”  
“...”  
“Come on, I will probably need a hand setting it up.”  
“Acknowledged.”

Tony just shook his head at the reply, at least it wasn't that empty tone and expression void of emotion any more, seeing that was quite unsettling.  
Yasha had explained that as more time passed after having been triggered the compulsions grew weaker and it seemed that the automaton feel of Yasha's behaviour faded along with them.

“Would you be a sweetheart and grab those boxes there?”

Yasha just nodded and did as asked and soon they were putting together a small weapons rack and a standalone armrest.

“I figured you could use something to take some of the strain of that shoulder if you're gonna be sitting in that chair all night.”

The utter confusion on Yasha's face made Tony sigh, but it also made a cold rage stir deep within, all the little things he was noticing just made his hatred for HYDRA grow.

“Look, I don't particularly like this arrangement, but I know to pick my battles. That doesn't mean I'm about to make this any more uncomfortable than it has to be, for either of us.”  
“Thank you...”

It only took a few minutes to adjust the armrest and once done the final box was opened and the weapons inside were put into the rack.

“These are just some basic stuff from storage, I have some ideas for custom stuff to look over when I get a moment.”  
“These are all high quality weapons.”  
“Of course they are, Stark Industries may no longer be a weapons manufacturer, but we were the best.”  
“I can remember that Stark weapons never failed me on missions...”  
“Oh, how about Hammer tech?”  
“I would rather just have a hammer...”

The outright disgusted look on Yasha's face that accompanied the quip made Tony laugh, a free, true, laugh that felt good.

“I think I might just learn to like you Frosty.”  
“...”

The silence was expected so Tony just got ready for bed and while he did Yasha disappeared to his room for a few minutes and when he returned he simply took a seat in the chair and the only way Tony could describe the change in posture and expression was _Standby_ mode.

“Good night Tasty Freeze, Fri baby.  
“Good night Boss.”  
“Good night Tony.”

The Asset watched as Star... _Tony_ , settled down and soon his breathing and pulse calmed into the familiar pattern of sleep and the Asset relaxed slightly, he was still alert to any potential danger but he allowed himself the luxury of allowing some of the tension to fade.  
The voices within were still uncharacteristically silent, the Captain's blatant lie and betrayal of a friend and teammate had sent the fragments of the Other into hiding as they tended to do when confused, scared or hurt, leaving the Asset to carry the pain.  
He didn't really mind though, it was what he was created for, the silence did offer an opportunity though, the voices sometimes interfered with the compulsions, following the Captain had been influenced by that, telling him to trust, to obey.  
The voices tangled with the compulsions to obey the handlers and made the Asset pliable, but now with the voices silent he could pull and and pry at the compulsions, shifting their focus a bit.

The Asset considered Tony, how the man had been behaving since the incident in the bunker and he was a bit surprised at how well he performed as a handler despite being adamant about not wanting that kind of power over the Asset.  
Tony had already proven himself able to be commanding when needed, but didn't use the power to hurt the Asset, instead he took care of the Asset beyond ensuring function, he actually took comfort into account, something new and unfamiliar.  
The Asset couldn't remember any handler actually caring for his comfort or opinion in anything, barely even mission relevant things such as equipment choices, Tony on the other hand had asked extensive questions about the Asset's preferred equipment.

With another glance at the sleeping man the Asset made a decision, he would obey this man, not because of HYDRA conditioning, not because he needed him as handler, but because he wanted to, because he trusted him.  
 _'Till the end of the line_ the fragmented voice of a memory whispered in the back of his mind.

.·:*¨¨*:·A Sliver of Trust·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Alright, let's see how this baby fits shall we?”

The Asset watched as Tony held up a package containing a light tactical armor and he quickly removed the simple pants and shirt he was wearing and grabbed the offered items.  
He was surprised at how light it was, light, soft and pliable.

“Something wrong there Snowflake?”  
“No. It's lighter than I thought it would be.”  
“Mhm, the latest in personal armor, as light and flexible as regular clothes and tougher than any standard stab or ballistic vest. Paired with the nano-composite plates in the vest you'll be a walking tank. And that's before taking the serum into account. Go on, put it on.”

The Asset quickly dressed in the offered items and found the fit to be excellent, even the shirt had a comfortable fit and didn't get pinched by the plates of the arm, nor did it impede movement in any way.

“My my, looking good there Terminator. How does it feel?”

The Asset was about to reply with the usual performance report when he paused and considered the peculiarities of his chosen handler before answering the question.

“It feels good, comfortable.”  
“Perfect, let's try the rest of the stuff as well.”

The Asset took the items handed to him and soon a wide selection of additional armor, holsters and sheaths were secured to his body, some visible, others hidden.

“Still feeling good?”  
“Very.”  
“Next piece might be a bit worse considering that fucking muzzle HYDRA had you wearing, but it would be good if you can stand it.”

The Asset looked at the full face tactical mask for a moment before securing it over his face, mindful not to get his hair snagged in the straps, his old muzzle was always secured by a handler or technician, and they never bothered with such details.

“Is it okay? If it's too much I can get one of those photostatic veils SHIELD are so fond of.”  
“It's okay, familiar...”  
“No bad memories?”  
“Some, but it helps me focus.”  
“Alright, as long as you're sure.  
“I'm sure.”

The Asset almost flinched when Tony reached out for him and gave the lock of hair that had fallen across his face a gentle tug.

“I think we may need to give you a bit of a haircut though.”  
“...”  
“Something wrong?”  
“I...”  
“Come on, talk to me.”  
“I don't want to look like _him_...”  
“Fine with me, I kinda like the scruffy, long haired look, has a certain animalistic attraction to it.”  
“...”  
“How about we shorten it just a bit to make sure it's even and doesn't get snagged on your gear?”

The Asset froze when Tony's fingers brushed through his hair, lifting it where the tips rested against the straps on his shoulder.

“Hey, Snowflake, you still with me?”  
“With HYDRA a handler's touch would usually be a prelude to pain.”  
“Fuck! Sorry...”  
“It's... I don't... It's a...”  
“I know, flinching, freezing and shying away from touch is common among abuse victims. They have been conditioned to equate touch with pain to the point sometimes even the prospect of being touched triggers it.”

The Asset knew about such reactions on an intellectual level, HYDRA training had been very thorough, now he found himself watching the way Tony's gaze scattered and remained unfocused and he realised the man spoke from experience.

“Who?”

The Asset was struggling with the compulsion to submit for punishment for questioning a handler, but he managed to fight it down, he knew those reactions bothered Tony.

“As a child, Howard, a few bad relationships in my youth, being kidnapped and tortured, betrayed by Obie who had been like a father. And that was before the Avengers, before a life as Iron Man.”

The Asset just nodded silently, he had nothing to offer, no words could undo such suffering.

“Let's just say my issues have issues and be done with that.”  
“Acknowledged.”  
“One last thing, you will need some sort of codename while acting as my bodyguard. Anything in particular you would like?”  
“No.”  
“You do love your knives so how about Blade?”  
“Blade... Acceptable.”  
“Great, guess we are about as ready as we can be to start heading out of the tower.”

The Asset would have preferred to stay inside until they were ready to strike, the tower was a safe place that was easy to defend, but it would arouse suspicion if Tony didn't continue his work, which required him to leave.  
The past week had been fairly easy to explain away as Tony needing time to recover after the fights, but there was only so much he could do using the various telecommunication options he had available, some things needed to be done in person.

There was a long list of meetings and events scheduled for the upcoming weeks, hospital visits, meetings with the Accords committee, various media and PR events, and a fundraiser for the Maria Stark Foundation to raise money to help the people hurt by the fallout of the UN bomb.  
The Asset had fought the conditioning and deep rooted scars to speak up and make it clear that he didn't like it, and Tony had listened calmly and worked with him to make everything as safe as possible.  
And much to the Asset's relief Tony had made sure they would not be separated, the mission to protect Stark would not be jeopardised.

The mission to take down HYDRA was slowly beginning to take shape, plans in place for how to make the Accords committee agree to the covert anti-HYDRA taskforce that would allow them to strike anywhere in the world without worrying about local authorities.

“Yasha, you make sure to get some sleep, we have a few long days ahead of us.”  
“Acknowledged.”

 _We_ , _Us,_ for once those words rang true, Tony wasn't asking the Asset to be anyone or anything other than just being, and the Asset found that he liked the feeling of that.


	3. Necessary Evil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dub-con elements that will be coming in to play from here on stem from Yasha's time with HYDRA.
> 
> Due to HYDRA's manipulations he has no real concept of consent which goes both ways, he doesn't really understand to acquire consent, and the conditioning to always obey his handler makes it hard to tell if he actually consents, or is just acting on the compulsion to obey.

.·:*¨¨*:· Necessary Evil·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Tony gave the instruments of the Quinjet one last look to make sure the defences of the Avengers Compound had properly disengaged to allow them to land before approaching the landing pad.  
  


“You are agitated.”  
  


Yasha shifted slightly on his right and Tony nodded slowly, not the least bit surprised that his new companion had picked up on his mood, the super assassin was far too good at reading him and Tony didn't know how much was the serum enhanced senses, HYDRA training, or just himself dropping his guard around the man.  
  


“Yeah, I'm worried about seeing Rhodey.”  
  


Since there really wasn't anything more the hospital could do Rhodes had been released and transferred to the medical wing of the compound to continue his recovery, but the prognosis was not a good one.  
  


“The doctors... They don't really believe he will walk again.”  
“I see...”  
  


Tony took a deep breath and turned fully to face Yasha, though, not seeing his eyes behind the mask was a bit unsettling.  
  


“I'm not about to let that happen, I'll find some way, and if there's isn't one I'll fucking invent one. I just... I hate seeing him hurt.”  
“You care a lot about this man.”  
“Damn straight I do! He's my best friend, if it wasn't for him I wouldn't have made it through MIT alive.”  
“Your father's enemies, or your own?”  
  


The question made Tony laugh a bitter laugh.  
  


“Oh, plenty of both, but the most dangerous enemy at the time was myself. Living the life. Sex, Drugs & Rock'n'Roll, with the emphasis on the drugs.”  
“I see.”  
  


The total lack of judgement was refreshing and Tony did feel a bit lighter as they walked toward the medical wing.  
He pauses for a moment outside the door, looking through the window the sight of Rhodes' bruised and battered form makes his heart stutter and the chill running through his body makes him shiver.  
  


“Wait here.”  
  


He doesn't wait for an answer, knowing Yasha will stay and keep watch unless something happens, instead he focuses on putting on his best, brightest, smile as he enters the room.  
  


“Platypus!”  
“Tones! Thank god you're okay! The news all spin their tales and Fri wouldn't give me a straight answer.”  
“Sorry man, there's just a lot happening and I needed some time to collect my thoughts.”  
  


Tony hated not telling Rhodes everything, but this was too big, too new, and as much as he loved his oldest friend Rhodes was a military man, he lived by the book, by the chain of command.  
He may be willing to skirt around the regulations and bend the rules sometimes, but in the end he wouldn't break them so Tony would make it easy for him, not give him information that would leave him torn between duty and friendship.  
  


“I'm sorry...”  
  


Tony takes a heavy seat on the simple chair next to the bed.  
  


“It's not your fault Tones, what we do, it's dangerous. 138 missions, I've had a good run.”  
“I'm not leaving you like this, I will find a way to get you your legs back.”  
“I know you will.”  
  


Tony sets off on his usual ramblings and as always Rhodes indulges him, offers his own expertise, teases and quips as they fall into familiar patterns.  
  


“So, Tones, couldn't help noticing the broody shadow you have waiting out there...”  
“Yeah, that's Blade. He came to me with an offer and I decided to take him up on it. With people protesting the Accords I figured some extra security might come in handy.”  
  


Tony turns to the door and calls for Yasha to join them.  
  


“Blade, meet my old buddy Colonel James Rhodes. Rhodey, meet Blade.”  
  


Tony watched as the two sized each other up, tension obvious in the room, then Rhodes huffed and offered a tentative smile.  
  


“Not sure if I approve of the getup, but anyone who can get Tony to accept some extra security is okay in my book.”  
  


As they had agreed on Yasha didn't speak, instead he just offered a curt nod.  
  


“Yeah, he's the quiet type.”  
  


They couldn't risk anyone recognizing Yasha's voice, there would be a voice modifier in the mask they were currently working on, but for now they would simply have to do things old school.  
Rhodes didn't settle for the simple introduction though, instead he began asking all kinds of questions, and when he found that he didn't get any verbal answers at all he frowned, and switched to simpler _Yes/No_ questions.  
Tony could feel Yasha's eyes on him, asking him how to proceed so he gave him a slight nod to answer the questions without speaking, hoping that the answers would satisfy Rhodes, he really wanted the pair to get along.  
Tony may not be able to tell Rhodes the truth now, but if his plans came together Yasha would have a full pardon and he would be able to reveal who he was at least to a few people he trusts.  
  


“Dr Stark, here are the scans you requested.”  
  


The voice from the door made everyone turn and look at the old nurse who ran the day to day operations of the medical wing.  
  


“Thank you nurse Mills.”  
  


Tony's mind was already drifting, making plans and drawing up designs for ways to help Rhodes walk so he didn't even notice that Yasha had taken the tablet from the nurse.  
  


“Tones?”  
  


It wasn't until he saw the utter bewilderment on Rhodes' face that Tony realized he had accepted the tablet from Yasha without even the slightest hint of hesitation, and of course Rhodes was perfectly aware of the implications of such an action.  
  


“Yeah, I do... Don't ask me how or why, but do I trust him.”  
“Blade, could you give us some privacy?”  
  


Rhodes' request made Yasha shift his stance slightly, focusing his attention on Tony who gave him a nod.  
  


“Go ahead. And close the door please.”  
  


The moment the door snapped shut Rhodes tugged on Tony's arm.  
  


“Are you sure? That guy has a dangerous feel to him.”  
“Oh trust me Sourpatch, he's as dangerous as they come.”  
“But you trust him, feel safe with him?”  
“I trust him to complete his mission at any cost, and yeah, I trust him beyond that as well.”  
“I want proper answers when you feel ready to give them, but for now I'll trust that paranoid streak of yours to know what it's doing.”  
“Thanks...”  
  


When the nurse comes by and tells Tony that Rhodes needs to rest he nods without objections and after a quick promise to get back to Rhodes as soon as he has some time he steps out of the medical room.  
The moment the door closes he steps away from it and lets out a deep breath he hadn't realized he was holding but before the building anxiety had a chance to overwhelm him a gentle nudge against his shoulder interrupts the spiral.  
  


“Friday asked me to remind you that the items you needed from the workshop are packed and ready for transport.”  
“Of course, thanks...”  
  


Tony knew it wasn't really about the items from the workshop, Yasha and Friday had teamed up to try to keep him from spiralling into panic attacks, and so far they were doing a good job at it, distracting him before he could spiral too deep.  
He knew what they were doing, but he appreciated the way they didn't draw attention to it, each time finding some way to camouflage it as something else.  
  


Tony gives Yasha a quick rundown of the compound as they head toward the workshop, pointing out the main areas.  
It was mostly empty at the moment though as most of the team living there had gone off with Rogers.  
  


“What happened here?”  
  


Yasha indicates toward the work crew fixing the damage that the witch had caused when attacking Vision.  
  


“Maximoff.”  
 _“Alaya Ved'ma...”_  
  


Yasha spat the words with a seething distaste that made Tony wonder just how bad the memories he had of Maximoff were.  
  


“She decided that being confined to the compound for her own safety didn't agree with her so she put Vision through the floor and ran off with Barton to join Rogers' little crusade.”  
“For me, my fault...”  
“No, not your fault. That mess is all on Rogers and those who chose to follow him.”  
“I remember it, the red behind my eyes, tearing through my mind...”  
  


The shudder of disgust, pain and fear made Tony reach out and put his hand on Yasha's arm, he was unfortunately familiar with the feeling of Maximoff's power crawling through his mind.  
  


“She's locked up at the raft, with a collar to keep her from using her power. She can't get to you, and if I have any say in it, she will **never** leave that place.”  
“Not alive...”  
“Indeed, not alive.”  
  


The dark agreement feels good, his friends would have balked at the expressed desire to kill, even the Avengers despite being killers themselves, but Tony has always had a dangerous, vindictive streak.  
As Iron Man he had killed enemy combatants same as any soldier fighting a war, but there were far more personal kills as well, kills and fights driven by revenge, most knew of Stane, Vanko and Killian, but very few knew of Pepper's involvement in Stane and Killian, or that Vanko had detonated his own suit, believing that Tony had killed them in self defense.  
Butt there had been several others as well, people who had kidnapped him, or attempted to, a guy stalking Pepper, a tech stealing SI designs to sell, all killed in cold blood without anyone knowing he was behind it.  
Yasha didn't judge, instead he echoed the same dark edge, kill or be killed, don't leave something that can truly threaten you, or yours, alive.  
It was a relief to not have to hide the darkness, to let the shadows rise and actually be able to talk about it with someone who could relate, even if Yasha was hesitant to even acknowledge that he had feelings or desires at all.  
  


“Come on _Blade_ , let's go grab those crates and get back home.”  
“Acknowledged.”  
  


The exchange is teasing and both of them silently long to be back at the tower, to drop the masks both physical and metaphorical, to feel safe and be who they are.  
  


·:*¨¨*:· Necessary Evil·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Once they left the landing pad at the tower they were greeted by Friday informing Tony that the upholstery items ordered had finally arrived.  
  


“Perfect! Fri would you be a sweetheart and unload those crates?”  
“Of course Boss”  
“Thank you sweetie. Come on Tastee Freez, got something for ya to have a look at in the workshop.”  
  


As promised there was a stack of boxes and the metal skeleton of a sofa waiting for them when they entered the workshop and once Yasha had removed the excess gear he joined Tony who was digging through the various boxes.  
  


“Come, help me move this thing a bit.”  
“Move where?”  
“Anywhere you want it, after all you're the one who will be sleeping in it since you seem to prefer sleeping while I tinker.”  
“But..?”  
  


Tony just huffed when Yasha glanced at the mattress that was propped up against the wall.  
  


“I figured you don't like sleeping on the floor any more than I do...”  
“True, I don't, it's a tactical disadvantage...”  
“Mhm, and since I kinda blew up the old sofa I made a new, sturdier one.”  
“I see...”  
“Would it be safe to assume you prefer sleeping with your back to the wall, and not pushed into the corner?”  
“Indeed.”  
  


Tony watched as Yasha reassessed the room but he didn't seem to find what he was looking for.  
  


“You know, the tables and workstations can be moved around if you don't like the layout.”  
  


It only took Tony a few seconds to bring up an interactive display showing the current layout of the workshop.  
A few more twists and flicks at the projection added a representation of the new sofa to the model and pushing motion sent it to rest in the air in front of Yasha.  
Tony watched him stare at the projection for a while before giving him a verbal poke to get to work.  
  


“Go on, show me how you would prefer things to be set up.”  
  


The first few pokes were tentative but they quickly gained confidence and soon Yasha had rearranged the projection to his liking and Tony brought it back to himself with a beckoning motion.  
  


“Not bad, a few of these stations will have to trade places though.”  
  


Tony quickly made his changes to take into account the various specialised stations, and placing his primary workbench in the location closest to the sofa.  
  


“How about this Frosty?”  
“It looks good.”  
“Great, let's start moving shit around.”  
  


Tony almost laughed at the way Yasha startled when he called a pair of the backup suits to help with the rearranging of workstations, but there was a flicker of something dangerous, a glint of threat, in his eyes that instantly had Tony signalling the suits to stop.  
  


“Hey, easy there big guy, some of us aren't crazy strong super soldiers you know, and a lot of the stuff in here is seriously heavy. Fri is just using the suits to help.”  
“Sorry...”  
“Don't be, I should have warned you about calling the suits.”  
  


Yasha just nodded and put the gun away, it took a while before the tension faded from his stance though, but the physical exertion of rearranging the workshop seemed to help and when they were done he didn't object to taking a nap.  
  


“Mind if I join you sleepy head?”  
  


Tony waited at a safe distance, remembering what Yasha had said about approaching him while he slept.  
There was no verbal answer, but Tony watched as the vents on the arm closed for a moment followed by the plates shifting a bit and the vents re-opening, telling him that Yasha was aware of his presence and not bothered by it.  
  


“How did you know I wouldn't attack?”  
  


Tony jumps slightly when Yasha speaks up a few minutes later.  
  


“Your arm...”  
“Hmm?”  
“I can kinda get an idea of your moods by watching it. When you sleep it powers down and the vents open, and you keep the vents closed as much as possible when fighting, so when the vents closed and the plates shifted I knew you were awake, and since they reopened you clearly weren't concerned about me being there.”  
  


For a moment there was just silence, then Yasha shifted slightly and gave Tony a quick glance before settling back.  
  


“Observant.”  
“Genius.”  
  


The quip earned Tony a huff but no further conversation so he just continued working on the designs for a pair of leg bracers for Rhodes, hoping to have a prototype done by the time he was let out of medical.  
  


·:*¨¨*:· Necessary Evil·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Stubborn bastard!”  
  


The rather loud cursing startles the Asset somewhat and he turns his attention from the tablet with the Accords document to see what has Tony so agitated.  
  


“What's wrong?”  
“Fucking Ross is what's wrong!”  
“He's not satisfied with your report?”  
“Of course he's not, nothing in there he can use to crucify me, or use to push his registration act agenda.”  
  


The Asset watches as Tony grasps for the back of the couch he's standing behind, the tension and tightness of his features revealing the pain as his lungs strain to draw breath, struggling against the intrusive presence of the arc reactor.  
For a moment the Asset hesitates, then he stands and walks over to Tony and reaches out for his shoulder.  
  


“Don't slouch like that, straighten up, it will make it easier to breathe.”  
  


Using his flesh hand to pull Tony up straighter he carefully places the cybernetic hand against the small of his back, nudging the smaller man to stand up straight with proper posture, letting the damaged lungs work as well as they are able to.  
  


“Thanks...”  
  


The Asset watched as Tony took a few deep breaths and forced the panic down.  
  


“Care to share what Ross did to set this off?”  
“He's using the Accords to force me to come in for a formal hearing.”  
“...”  
“Don't worry, I managed to get it set at the compound so you will be there, and I will have Fri backing us up.”  
“We should acquire the HYDRA files on him, that would shut him down.”  
“Oh, found the memories of where they are?”  
“I'm not sure, but I do remember a HYDRA facility outside of Nashville that holds hard copies for a significant amount of their files.”  
“Guess we have a raid to plan then. Too bad this meeting will be tomorrow, not enough time to take him down before that.”  
“Unfortunately, but I think I will enjoy a mission...”  
  


The Asset had started feeling restless the 4th day with Tony, and now, 10 days into his self appointed mission, part of him wanted to just rip something apart.  
  


“Feeling antsy there Elsa?”  
“Very.”  
“That's probably the serum talking, part of the super soldier strength comes from overstimulated production of hormones like adrenaline and testosterone, makes you stronger, but also more aggressive. Rogers used to take long runs and beat up reinforced punching bags for hours to get it out of his system.”  
“I think cryo used to purge the excess from my body.”  
“Makes sense. Too high levels would make you very hard to control regardless of method used.”  
  


For a moment Tony pauses and tilts his head.  
  


“You think extra time in the gym could help control those feelings?”  
“Maybe, but the Asset is not perm...”  
“Yeah, yeah, I know, I know.”  
  


Tony interrupts with a smile.  
  


“I was thinking I can set up a desk and some holo-screens in there, then I can do some of my thinking and designing while you work on those super soldier hormones.”  
“Why?”  
“We're kinda in this mess together, and you being all hyped up and antsy from inactivity is just gonna make things tougher to handle.”  
“...”  
“I have a little something for you in the workshop, so how about we go grab that and then head to the gym to work off that tension?”  
“Alright.”  
  


Tony was relieved that those _Acknowledged_ and _Complying_ answers were getting less and less frequent, but he couldn't help feeling that Yasha seemed more confused than before.  
  


“Awesome, let's go.”  
  


The ride down to the workshop was silent, but it was a companionable silence that Tony was starting to learn to appreciate.  
Once in the workshop Tony headed for the table where he had left the case that contained Yasha's surprise.  
  


“Here, it's coded to your thumb print.”  
  


Tony was practically vibrating with excitement as Yasha unlocked the case and opened it to reveal the contents.  
  


“Shock batons...”  
“Mhm, told ya I would make something better than the retail ones. Go on try em.”  
  


Leaning on the workbench Tony tries to contain himself as Yasha picks up one of the batons and carefully weighs it in his hand.  
  


“It's heavy. I like it.”  
“I figured you might like a bit more weight with how strong you are.”  
“You're right, I do prefer heavier batons.”  
“Think you can figure out how to turn it on without reading the manual?”  
  


The teasing challenge made Yasha smile and inspect the baton closer to figure out how to activate it, then with a grin he activated the switch, then almost dropped it as he spun to face Tony.  
  


“It's arc tech?”  
“Yep, only thing I can think of to make sure they pack enough of a wallop to take out a super soldier and won't be running out of charge when you really need them.”  
“Why would you?”  
  


Tony ignored the question and pushed on.  
  


“I trust that you will protect this tech and not let anyone get their hands on it.”  
“Of course! Thank you!”  
“Great, gym next Frosty.”  
  


The undisguised gratitude felt good and it was chipping away on the emotional armor he had built to protect himself, Tony didn't allow himself to dwell on it though as he grabbed the bag by the elevator door and asked Friday to bring them to the gym level..  
  


“I think I'll follow your lead and see if beating up a bag won't help get some of these frustrations out...”  
“Try not to overdo it this time.”  
“I won't.”  
“...!”  
  


The half glare that Yasha sent his way made Tony duck his head for a moment, he really was planning on taking it easy.  
In the end Tony ended up spending most of his focus on watching Yasha beat up one of the dummies with the batons, testing their balance and weight and by the gods the man had a body to die for, all lean muscle and raw power.  
Tony shook his head and forced himself to look away before his mind drifted too far down that road, but he was having a hard time clearing his mind so he startled slightly when Yasha spoke up.  
  


“They are really well balanced.”  
“Glad you approve.”  
  


There was a hint of old pain in the half snapped reply which triggered a somewhat uncomfortable silence.  
  


“Of course I do... You put a lot of work into these.”  
“Sorry, didn't mean to snap like that... My issues have issues, remember?”  
“I remember. And it makes me want to replace that dummy with whoever caused you such scars.”  
  


There was an edge of danger in Yasha's voice that made Tony pause and just stare at him, then he shook his head, not ready to even consider what implications those words could carry, instead he focused back on his own bag.  
Tony wasn't sure how long he had been beating up his bag when Yasha tapped his shoulder, and caught the reflex punch with his cybernetic arm.  
  


“Ah, sorry. You needed something?”  
“You mentioned these would be able to take down an enhanced individual such as myself, I would like to test that.”  
  


Tony blinked a few times when Yasha held out one of the batons for him.  
  


“Wait, you want me to use it on **you**?”  
“It's the best way to know how much power it has.”  
“Are you sure, I mean with the shit HYDRA did to you using electricity?”  
“I'm sure.”  
“Okay, just don't kill me if I trigger something...”  
“I won't.”  
  


With a steadying breath Tony took the baton and turned it on to the lowest setting and slowly reached out towards Yasha's flesh shoulder.  
  


“Really, really sure?”  
“Yes, stop stalling.”  
  


Tony touched the tip against the skin of Yasha's shoulder and winced when he instantly tensed up with a hiss.  
  


“Again.”  
  


Tony gave a hesitant nod, then turned up the power to the next setting.  
On the 6th level Yasha dropped to the ground with a grunt but was instantly back on his feet, the 7th left him gasping for air for a few while the cramps abated so he could rise again.  
On the 8th level there was a pained cry as he crashed to the ground and it took a few minutes for him to regain consciousness, minutes that Tony spent nervously hovering while Friday assured him that Yasha's readings were all well within normal as far as she could tell.  
When he finally woke up Tony breathed a sigh of relief, and prayed he wouldn't insist on trying the remaining settings.  
  


“That definitely packs a punch.”  
“That was a single pulse at level 8, it goes up to 10 and can deliver up to 20 pulses in rapid succession.”  
“That doesn't sound very non lethal, at least not for a baseline human.”  
“It's not. It does offer up a few extra options though. But please, don't ask me to test the rest on you...”  
“I won't, I just wanted to know how much it would take for it to take me down.”  
“In case you need to shock yourself to get your opponent?”  
“Exactly.”  
  


Tony only took a moment to consider his words before letting Yasha know what his own tolerance was.  
  


“I can handle a 5, 6 will knock me out cold.”  
  


Yasha looked up with a look on his face that Tony couldn't quite place.  
  


“That's impressive for a baseline human.”  
“Pretty useful when people try to use a standard taser to kidnap you.”  
“I guess that wasn't very successful?”  
“They still haven't found all the bodies...”  
  


For a moment Yasha looked surprised, and a bit confused, then he laughed, a smooth, dark sound that spoke of approval.  
  


“I believe your _Do not engage_ classification is more well deserved than HYDRA realises.”  
“Never hurts to be underestimated by your enemies.”  
“True. Now, do these have a sparring setting?”  
  


The change in topic made Tony grin and walk over to his own bag.  
  


“No, but these do.”  
  


The answering smile was predatory with just enough of an edge of danger to make Tony swallow as he handed over the heavier pair, he had no doubt the sparring with the Winter Soldier would involve a fair amount of pain, but he didn't really mind.  
  


·:*¨¨*:· Necessary Evil·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


The meeting with Ross was every bit as bad as Tony had feared it would be, starting with the man trying to insist that Yasha could not be in the room while insisting that his own group of henchmen had to be there, which of course Tony did not allow him to get away with, but it went downwards from there.  
  


When it was finally over the door to the conference room had barely closed before Tony stumbled to the wall and slowly sank down to the floor, gasping for air.  
  


“The room is secure Boss, you are safe.”  
  


Friday's voice was soft as the lights in the room dimmed and Yasha approached slowly, removed the mask and lowered himself to his knees close enough to be able to reach out and touch Tony, but not close enough to make him feel crowded.  
  


“You are safe, focus on your breathing.”  
  


Yasha slowly guided Tony through the steps of the grounding exercise, patiently waiting for him to calm down.  
  


“Tony, can you handle being touched now?”  
“Yeah...”  
  


The heavy hand on his knee further helped Tony ground himself and when he finally looked up with a weak nod the hand lifted for a moment as Yasha stood, then it was offered to pull him to his feet.  
  


“I will kill him.”  
  


Tony could feel that Yasha's words were not a threat, or even a promise, he was simply stating a fact.  
  


“We have to burn him first, we can't risk him becoming a martyr for the registration act. Once he is thoroughly burned we will bury him.”  
 _“Acknowledged. The Asset will comply.”_  
  


The familiar words were spoken harshly in Russian, and this time there was an almost gleefully dark edge to them.  
  


“Come on, let's get back home, we have a Foundation gala to plan for.”  
  


When Tony continued on to grumble about what he wanted to do to Ross Yasha just shook his head and put the mask back on.  
  


Fortunately Tony's calendar was packed full with meetings, and the upcoming charity event kept his mind too occupied to dwell on Ross.  
  


·:*¨¨*:· Necessary Evil·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Tony's nervous energy had the Asset on edge as he watched the man buzz around the penthouse in a flurry of activity.  
  


”Boss, you need to leave now or you will be late.”  
“Yeah yeah Fri, I know I know.”  
  


Tony quickly grabbed the new wrist gauntlet he had been working on and moments later the Asset finds himself being pushed toward the elevator and he can smell hints of fear and anger mixed with the subtle fragrance Tony was wearing.  
  


“Alright, let's get this over with.”  
  


As always Tony pushed on, heedless of his own discomfort.  
  


“You are agitated, not excited or eager.”  
  


Tony huffed slightly as he stepped into the elevator, it was still a bit unsettling how easily Yasha read him, and how easy it was to drop the masks around the enhanced assassin.  
  


“I never really liked these big fundraiser events. Too many sharks out for blood.”  
  


He pulled at the gauntlet to make sure it would unfold as it should before retracting it again and trying to relax.  
  


“Then why do it?”  
“The foundation can do a lot of good, and getting people engaged in it makes it easier to help. If I approach as Tony Stark and offer the resources to fix things people will suspect my motives, but a big foundation like this, people trust it.”  
“People are idiots...”  
“No arguments from me on that one Snowflake.”  
  


As they approached the venue Tony began tapping his fingers against his leg, trying to control his nervous energy.  
The large crowd of Accords protesters really didn't help and he was just about to tell Happy to keep driving when the silvery metal of Yasha's hand covered his own stilling, the nervous movement.  
  


“If you leave, they will perceive it as weakness, scent blood in the water.”  
“I know...”  
“I will not allow them to harm you.”  
“I know that too Frosty.”  
“Then relax, you are a true master of this game.”  
“I am, aren't I...”  
“Put your mask on, complete the mission.”  
 _“Complying.”_  
  


The teasing quip in Russian earns Tony a soft chuckle and he watches Yasha put his long glove back on and make sure it won't slip.  
  


“Ready?”  
“Ready.”  
  


Tony feels some of the nervous energy return as Yasha exits the car and steps around to open the door for him, but once he steps out of the car and into the camera flashes the familiar mask is in place, smiling, waving, flirting and snarking with the media and paparazzi gathered along the ropes.  
Any questions regarding Yasha are brushed off with a simple comment about a bodyguard while not in his _Other suit_ and Yasha just ignores any questions coming his way.  
  


By the time Tony reaches the large doors his mask is firmly in place, the game is on, and he allows the firm presence of Yasha at his back to ground him.  
  


The event itself is as tedious as he remembers, handshakes and meaningless conversation, empty compliments and expensive, but soulless, food.  
  


“Careful.”  
  


A soft whisper and a gentle touch against his back warns Tony that something about the approaching woman has Yasha suspicious and Tony is not about to question those super assassin instincts.  
The suspicion grows when Yasha shifts closer into Tony's space and there is a flicker of something in her eyes at the subtle threat in his posture.  
Pleasantries are exchanged and she tries to slip Tony a phone number which is intercepted by Yasha and Tony recognizes the flicker in her eye, the intentionally vulnerable look, it's the same look Romanoff would use to get men to do what she wanted them to.  
Tony almost takes a step back at the realization that the woman in front of him may be one of the Black Widows but he manages to keep still, maintain the mask, but once she has vanished into the crowd he takes a small step back and whispers into the glass of champagne he's holding.  
  


“She's a widow?”  
“Yes.”  
“Shit... Think she recognized you?”  
“No.”  
“Okay...”  
  


With a sigh of relief Tony tried to focus back on the room, but knowing that the woman was prowling somewhere in the crowd left him restless and if the feeling he was getting from Yasha looming behind him was on mark the soldier was on edge as well.  
Feeling even more uncomfortable than when he arrived Tony signalled for Happy to bring the car around as he casually started moving toward the exit.  
  


“Sorry everyone, occasionally even Tony Stark needs to work and sleep.”  
  


A few more jokes and teasing flirts rounded off the event as they stepped out into the chill of the New York night and when the door of the car closed Tony's shoulders sagged with a sigh.  
Fortunately it was a short drive back to the tower and soon Tony found himself draped across his bed with Yasha seated in his usual corner, sleep however seemed a distant concept as his mind kept replaying the encounter with the young woman, barely out of her teens.  
  


“Why a widow?”  
  


The words were barely a whisper, but Tony knew Yasha would hear him, but considering how stiff the assassin had been since the encounter he wasn't sure he would get an answer.  
  


“I don't know, but it merits investigation.”  
“Yeah, it does. How much do **you** know about them?”  
“I know what they are and what they do...”  
“Guess we just have to do it the good old fashioned way then.”  
“No, there's more, fragments of memories. I... I think I trained some of them, the girl I remember, the one who called me Yasha, I think she may have been one of the students.”  
“You don't have to, but maybe talking about it can help you remember?”  
“Maybe...”  
  


Even hidden in the dark corner of the room the tension in Yasha's posture was obvious.  
  


“You don't have to decide now, or ever really, so how 'bout you just lemme know if you do?”  
“Acceptable.”  
  


Tony had a feeling that Yasha's mission focus would make him insist on trying to remember, heedless of his own discomfort, and as much as he hated to admit it they needed any information they could on any players involved.  
Try as he might, Tony just couldn't get his brain to shut down, too many thoughts, too many ideas, and remembering Yasha's solid heat against his back at the fundraiser really didn't help either.  
  


“Fuck this, I can't sleep”  
  


Tony scrambled out of bed and grabbed the clothes crumpled on top of the hamper and got dressed, silently noting that for once Yasha wasn't complaining that he should sleep.  
Instead he just rose and holstered his gun, ready to follow Tony wherever he went.  
  


The moment the elevator door opens to the workshop Tony makes a beeline for the table where he left the card the woman, widow, gave him to be analysed.  
On the surface it looked like one of those 50 for a dollar business cards, but considering who had given it they didn't take any chances, Yasha had been the one to handle it, and only with his metal hand.  
  


“Fri baby, got anything for daddy?”  
“Of course Boss.”  
  


The way the AI manages to sound affronted at the suggestion that she wouldn't have found anything makes Tony grin as he looks at the displays coming to life.  
  


“As suspected the paper has been laced with several unregistered chemical compounds.”  
  


One of the displays quickly shifts to display a set of complex molecules.  
  


“Can you tell me anything about them?”  
“I have identified derivatives of Sodium Pentothal, Scopolamine, Rohypnol, Zolpidem, GHB and MDMA as well as several others that are completely unknown.”  
“Damn, nasty stuff...”  
“A potent mixture to render the target weakened, highly suggestible, and unable to recall events once the drugs have been fully metabolised.”  
  


Yasha sounds even more detached than usual and Tony gets a feeling he may have some personal experience with the stuff.  
  


“The ultimate date rape cocktail...”  
“Several of the substances were used during conditioning but were ultimately abandoned as the serum allowed the Asset to overcome the effect faster than a baseline human.”  
  


Tony found himself unable to muster the energy to look at his feelings about HYDRA any more, much less give voice to them, it seemed like wherever he turned he would find evidence or another heinous act at their hands, and usually with Yasha as the victim.  
  


“You know what, from now on I'll just assume whatever nasty, evil crap we come across will be something HYDRA has used against you at some point...”  
“That assumption would probably be accurate more often than not.”  
“Fucked up is what it is.”  
  


Tony dismissed the displays with a flick of his hand, he was so not in the proper mood to do investigative work, he needed to blow shit up.  
  


”Come on Winter Wonderland, time to destroy some shit!”  
  


Yasha's slightly raised eyebrow made Tony laugh and grab the cybernetic arm to pull him along, dragging him to the hidden elevator that would take them down to Tony's private shooting range where he tested his more explosive toys.  
  


Stepping out of the smaller, hidden, elevator the Asset paused and took in the new floor, a true marvel of engineering and design it spanned 3 full floors and the wall with the elevator was covered with weapons on rotating racks.  
What really caught his attention though was the matte black beauty of a rifle that was proudly displayed on a table off to the right.  
It was fairly large and everything he knew about weapons told him that it was powerful, and accurate, the weapon of a sniper.  
  


“Like what you see do you? She's based on one of my old designs that I never put into production because it was too much for your average soldier, but I think you'll get along with her just fine.”  
  


Walking over to the table the Asset could feel an odd sense of excitement as he reached out and traced the sleek, black, metal with his hand before picking the rifle up.  
Feeling the weight of it the Asset understood Tony's words about it being too much for a baseline soldier, even a well trained one, to his enhanced strength it felt solid, comfortable and the size was a perfect fit.  
  


“So, how does she feel?”  
“Deadly.”  
“Perfect. Why don't you go squeeze a few rounds off, get a feel for her? I think I can squeeze in a trip to the big range next week if you wanna give her a proper workout.”  
  


The Asset looked toward the indicated range and he could feel a stir of eagerness to try the rifle Tony had made for him, if it was anything like the shock batons he knew he would have a new favourite in his firearms collection.  
  


“You're gonna have to settle for the boring ammo though, not sure how the walls would hold up against the good stuff.”  
  


The Asset watched as Tony placed a metal box containing the familiar shapes of ammo cartridges in the same matte black as the rifle and he didn't hesitate to grab one and soon he was ready to fire.  
  


Tony watched as Yasha prepared the rifle with practised ease and took a firing stance using the support rail that was intended to mimic using a wall or vehicle for support and cover.  
When the shot rang out Tony felt a familiar heat drop into his belly and he cursed silently, he had seen the old WWII reels showing the Howling Commandos, and he had always considered _James Bucky Barnes_ to be very good looking, but Yasha managed to hit pretty much every kink Tony had.  
Strong, competent and intelligent with the sharp edge of a dangerous predator, the habit of wearing that oh so delicious looking tac gear, the arm, and even the muzzle he had been wearing under HYDRA just added to the image.  
  


When Yasha decided to switch to a prone firing position Tony shook his head to clear the image and hurried over to the handgun range, grabbing the closest gun in the rack.  
Tony cursed under his breath as he reloaded the magazine, going to the range was supposed to clear his mind, but now all he could think of was all the ways Yasha was just his type, and was a very very wrong road to head down.  
The grip on the gun tightens and his knuckles turn white with the strain as his mind decides to replay the memory of finding out that the Winter Soldier had killed his parents, and his breath turns ragged as he is reminded that Rogers knew and didn't say anything.  
  


“Tony?”  
  


The soft voice startles Tony and a moment later the gun in his hands is aimed at Yasha's head, fortunately super soldier reflexes and enhanced speed prevents a serious incident, there is however a new scratch in the shoulder area of the cybernetic arm.  
  


“Shit! Sorry!”  
  


Tony scrambles to get off the floor, totally ignoring the burning pain from where the force of Yasha's tackle had pushed him off balance, making him hit the back of his head against the booth as he fell.  
He quickly checks the arm for damage, but when Yasha's flesh hand brushes against the back of his head, and the developing bump, he freezes.  
  


“No, I shouldn't have approached you like that.”  
“I almost put a bullet in your head!”  
“You're fast, but not **that** fast.”  
  


The teasing quip instantly had Tony bright red and he slapped Yasha's chest with a curse before trying to walk away, only to find himself held in place by strong metal while the assassin completed a quick check for injuries.  
  


“Asshole...”  
“You do say the sweetest things котенок”  
  


Tony promptly convinces himself that he imagined the exchange, that the blow to his head had his mind playing tricks on him, but the teasing half smile would come to plague his dreams with hints of something more than an alliance against HYDRA.  
  


·:*¨¨*:· Necessary Evil·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Are you sure about this? What if someone knows you have gone rogue, or knows your words?”  
  


Tony watched the nondescript building at the outskirts of Nashville that supposedly housed a HYDRA information centre.  
  


“It's a low level facility, I doubt any of them are even aware of the existence of the Asset to begin with. But if anyone starts speaking Russian, shoot them.”  
“I still don't like it.”  
“We don't know where to look, and there may be a self-destruct in place. Gaining their cooperation is our best bet.”  
“I know... Still don't like it.”  
  


Tony may have agreed to the plan to just walk into the facility as if they belonged there and demand the files they needed, but that didn't mean he had to like it.  
Yasha had told him that low level HYDRA facilities such as the one they were targeting were mainly crewed by unarmed low level operatives, in this case little more than glorified filing clerks, and at most had a handful of armed guards and no more than two, maybe three, low level handlers.  
They mainly relied on codewords and phrases for security, and that those were rarely updated so getting in should be easy.  
Tony and Yasha would be posing as a handler and agent looking for information on a potential target, something that wouldn't arouse suspicion in that type of facility.  
  


By the time they entered the facility Tony was wearing one of his boardroom masks behind the photostatic veil depicting a perfectly average Caucasian male and he exchanged the greetings and control phrases Yasha had taught him with an air of confidence mixed with a hint of disdain.  
  


“Compliance will be rewarded.”  
“I am happy to comply.”  
  


Tony couldn't help feeling relieved that the response to the final control phrase was different from the _Ready to comply_ that Yasha would respond with when the compulsions planted in his mind acted up..  
  


“Bring me everything you have on Thaddeus Ross.”  
  


The HYDRA handler Tony had been speaking to quickly ordered the closest operative to show Tony and Yasha to the correct filing room and help them find the information they needed.  
The filing room they were led to had reasonably good security with an airlock structure with reinforced doors and an armed guard, it would definitely be tough to sneak in without anyone noticing.  
Once inside they could quickly confirm the presence of incendiary explosives, likely set to destroy all documents in the event of a breach.  
  


Much to Tony's relief it didn't take long for the file to be brought to them and no one objected when he demanded a copy to bring with him.  
  


“Holy shit, that actually worked...”  
  


Tony was leaning back in the passenger seat of the cheap rental while Yasha drove them back to Chattanooga where they would be spending the night at a small hotel then fly back to New York in the morning.  
It had taken quite a bit of work, and sweet talking Pepper, to get the time away from everything to pull off their little information hunt, but hopefully it would prove to be worth it.  
  


“Maybe next time you won't doubt my expertise.”  
“Yeah yeah, still, that was pretty crazy...”  
  


Tony had to admit that as risky as it had been to go in the way they did they had hit the jackpot, the file on Ross had enough dirt to bury the man 10 times over.  
  


“Think there are more facilities out there as easy as this one?”  
  


Tony knows they won't be able to talk about anything serious once they get back to the hotel so he decides to try to get a few questions out of the way on the drive there.  
  


“HYDRA lost a lot of it's oversight with Project Insight, leaving each facility and cell operating on their own with little or no communication with others.”  
“So there could be more out there that could be easily brought down?”  
“Yes. I believe we should leave this one operating though, as long as they believe us to be higher ranking operatives we can use them for information.”  
  


Tony just sighed, he wanted nothing more than to burn every last trace of HYDRA to the ground, but he had to admit that Yasha was right, they could really use the extra information.  
  


“I want them to burn but it never hurts to have some extra fuel for the fire.”  
  


Yasha's words and the somewhat odd turn of the mood left Tony silent, focusing back on the files as Yasha drove them to their goal.  
  


Neither of them were able to relax at the hotel, and Tony could tell Yasha was having a rough time, but they couldn't risk talking in case they had been followed.  
Making up his mind Tony reached out for Yasha's hand, keeping the motion slow to make sure he didn't trigger anything, grasping his hand Tony started tapping his finger in the familiar patterns of Morse-code, asking the soldier how he was doing.  
  


There was a brief look of surprise, then Yasha turned his hand over so he could reply in the same way, tapping a soft rhythm against the inside of Tony's wrist.  
Yasha silently explained that the facility had triggered a few memories that he was currently trying to sort through and see if he could connect them to other memories, trying to place them in their proper place in the timeline of his life.  
  


Talking about it seemed to help, and focusing on speaking through Morse-code kept Tony's mind from spinning out of control, and if he continued to ramble about everything and nothing just to maintain physical contact, well, he would never admit it.  
  


The Asset found himself somewhat confused at first when Tony touched his hand, then he recognized the rhythmical tapping and he found himself rather impressed, he knew of course from the files that Tony was skilled at improvisation and coming up with solutions on the fly, but seeing such a hands on example of that made it far more real.  
  


Focusing on a language he rarely used helped keep the Asset from losing himself in the new memories and it seemed to help Tony calm down as well so he settled down and paid attention to what Tony was rambling about.  
  


Neither of them would truly relax until they were back in the safety of the tower though.  
  


·:*¨¨*:· Necessary Evil·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


The file recovered from HYDRA proved to be much more than they had initially hoped for, and using the information it didn't take Tony long to get Ross out of the way, discredited and locked up, control of the raft was transferred to a sub committee under the Accords.  
The Raft was too valuable as a facility able to handle dangerous, enhanced individuals to shut it down completely, but now it at least has proper oversight and several of the prisoners, enhanced individuals with a wide range of powers who had committed no crimes, had been released.  
  


When the story about how Ross had imprisoned people who committed no crimes broke there was a massive public outcry against any form of registration act becoming part of the Accords, forcing the Accords committee to abandon any such paragraphs.  
In addition to getting rid of any registration acts Tony was able to work in additions to protect the identity of anyone who signed, enhanced individuals who wanted to use their abilities as crime-fighters, maybe even Avengers, would have the right to sign only as their _Hero_ identities.  
He also managed to get a whole section on protecting enhanced minors like Peter approved with very little resistance.  
  


It had been hard reading the file though, especially the sections about Bruce and the Hulk, the experiments, the betrayal, the way Ross had hunted them.  
It did help Tony better understand, and accept, why Bruce had left after the Ultron incident, but it did nothing to soothe his worry for the man, Tony had tried everything and found no trace of the Quinjet he had taken, and that just wasn't possible.  
Even if powered down and picked apart some of the components gave off energy signatures that could be tracked and Tony had tried everything, as far as he could tell the Quinjet was nowhere on earth.  
Before Loki opened a portal and brought aliens to Manhattan Tony would have scoffed at the suspicion that was now growing into certainty, Bruce had somehow left Earth.  
  


Tony shook his head to clear the thoughts, he needed to focus on the current plan to get some distraction both for himself and the increasingly restless Winter Soldier who was starting to remind him of a tiger pacing its cage.  
  


“What do you say Winter Wonderland, ready to go take down another HYDRA rat hole?”  
“About time.”  
“Yeah yeah, I know, politics can be slow, but this was still a lot faster than I thought it would be.”  
  


It had only taken 2 months to get Ross out of the way and get the Accords moving in the right direction, though Tony had no doubt there would be more hurdles.  
  


“So, which one do you want to hit?”  
  


Tony brought up a holographic map and a flick of a wrist highlighted the known HYDRA locations within the US in deep red.  
They had to be careful about doing anything outside of the US, the Accords were far too fragile to do anything that could risk them taking off in the wrong direction.  
That meant that for now they were limited to targeting HYDRA operations within the US, unfortunately that still left them with a lot of targets.  
  


“This one.”  
  


Yasha tapped one of the locations, a remote base in Alaska, bringing up all the information they had about the target.  
  


“Feeling like some mindless death and destruction are we?”  
  


The location was a hard target, a smaller weapons depot with a fairly large crew for the size of the facility, it would definitely be a fight to take it down.  
  


“...”  
  


Tony noted that Yasha looked hesitant, almost ashamed, but when his hand moved to pick a different target Tony stopped him.  
  


“Hey, I'm not judging you, sometimes you just need a good fight to clear your head. I'm guessing though that you might need a bit more blood and destruction than most to satisfy that itch.”  
“I... Maybe...”  
“Then we make sure you get plenty of opportunity to let that side out and play.”  
“This doesn't bother you?”  
“Not at all, I get those urges myself from time to time. And after what HYDRA turned you into it's hardly a surprise that there's some serious aggression issues to work out. Might as well take it out on the assholes who created them in the first place.”  
  


The hesitant look on Yasha's face quickly morphed into what Tony had dubbed the _Murder face_ , though not as cold as it has once been, this expression burned with a dangerous edge, a swirl of dark emotion that had not been present in the triggered version of the Winter Soldier.  
  


Plans were made, contingencies and backup plans added, weapons selected, and Tony looked at the sleek beauty that was the suit he had made solely for their attacks on HYDRA.  
Gone was the bright and flashy red and gold, instead it was mostly black, some deep, dark red and a few streaks of dark gold, all with a matte finish, and the arc reactor was covered, there would be no light giving them away.  
Even if he lifted the cover the deep red extra casing would mute the glow into a dark purple that they had found to be comfortable and unobtrusive to Yasha's enhanced vision.  
The dark armor was thinner and lighter than his other suits as well, designed for stealth and agility rather than power, as much as he loved his other suits they weren't always the most useful in the winding corridors of an underground base.  
  


Tony watched as Yasha put his gear on, this time it was the Winter Soldier gear though, left arm left uncovered, more weapons and despite Tony's concerns, muzzle and goggles in the same style he had been wearing in DC.  
It all came with quite a few Stark flavoured upgrades though.  
He pulled on his own undersuit, it was based on the tight fitting suits that motorcycle racers would wear under the heavier leather suits but made with a nano weave fabric it offered a decent level of protection even out of the armor, and it ensured optimal interface with the suit.  
When Tony reached out to brush his hand over the suit, triggering the sequence to open it up, he could hear Yasha's amused snort behind him, despite being all edgy mission focus it was clear his mood was far better than it had been for the past few weeks.  
  


Stepping into the suit always felt good, it felt like power, control and freedom, Friday greeted him as the displays came to life and for a brief moment he missed Jarvis' dry sarcasm, but Friday was quickly growing and expanding, her potential near limitless.  
He quickly did a systems check while walking toward the small hangar hidden in the cliff beneath his rebuilt Malibu home, smiling as the door opened to reveal another of his little secrets, a small stealth craft based on the Quinjet design.  
  


“Isn't she a beauty?”  
  


The glove of the suit retracted as Tony reached out for the fuselage and ran his hand along the optical stealth panels.  
  


“Looks fast.”  
“She is. She may lack in armaments, but she is faster and more agile than any other Quinjet, and nearly invisible. Not to mention designed to house an Iron Man suit.”  
  


It only took a few moments for Tony to step out of the suit, and another few seconds for it to fold away into a hidden compartment in the small craft.  
Moving to the other side he opened a small cargo compartment and nodded for Yasha to put his bag and rifle into it.  
The cockpit was small, but comfortable and once they were strapped in it didn't take long for Tony to have the craft ready for launch, and Yasha paid close attention to the steps for the unfamiliar controls.  
  


“Fri, _Open Sesame_.”  
“Right away Boss.”  
  


The hangar doors opened and Tony launched them into the air with a smile, he may prefer the suit, but piloting a small, fast, jet was almost as fun.  
This time he would take the time to rest on the flight so he fed the coordinates and flight speed to Friday before settling back and closing his eyes.  
  


“You should try to get some rest too Frosty, should take us about an hour to get there.”  
 _“Complying.”_  
  


It feels like mere minutes have passed when Friday announces that they have reached their target, and that there is no suitable place to land.  
  


“Alright, let's jump, Fri, you keep circling.”  
“Yes Boss.”  
  


With the suit and the serum a 3 story drop is hardly noteworthy and Friday gently lowers the bag and rifle into Yasha's waiting arms and once he detaches the cable the jet vanishes into the sky like a ghost, but Tony knows Friday will stay close.  
  


When the base comes into sight Tony and Yasha quickly scan the area for guards, and the only obstacle they find is a small structure carved into the cliff-side, part bunker, part watchtower.  
  


Before Tony can even consider looking for firing solutions to take out the sole guard the barrel of Yasha's rifle appears at his shoulder and he doesn't hesitate, he simply raises the arm of the armor and locks it in place, giving Yasha a support for his rifle.  
When a hand pushes against the arm he shifts his position slightly, letting Yasha guide him to the height he needs, then the muffled sound of a shot and the guard falls over.  
  


With the way into the base open they quickly enter and start making their way through the structure dispatching HYDRA soldiers as they move.  
At first Tony is somewhat shocked by the brutal force of the Winter Soldier as he doesn't bother using his weapons, instead ripping flesh and crushing bone with nothing but his serum enhanced strength and the power of the cybernetic arm.  
It has a strange beauty to it though, like watching a predator in its natural environment and when Yasha finally draws his blades power fades to grace and death becomes a dance.  
  


Tony quickly finds that fighting with Yasha at his side is very different from fighting with the Avengers, as they move together he realises that while the Avengers may have had faith in the capacity of the Iron Man armor, they had little trust in the pilot.  
He realized they never saw him as anything but a civilian who couldn't be trusted in the heat of battle.  
  


_Iron Man: Yes  
Tony Stark: Not recommended_   
  


He shakes off the memory and focuses on the fight and he marvels at just how good it feels to fight alongside someone who trusts you.  
  


As they make their way through the base explosives are planted at strategic locations, and Tony takes a moment to dig through a few old computers sitting in a room, copying the contents of the drives.  
  


“Let's blow this joint.”  
  


Making their way out of the base they pause in the cover of a large tree to watch the result of their handiwork.  
Tony turns around and retracts the faceplate before triggering the explosives and moments later night turns to day and a blast of hot air pushes against them.  
Throwing his head back Tony lets out a dark laugh, but just as he is about to suck in another breath of air tainted with a hint of smoke he finds himself slammed against the trunk of the tree and Yasha is kissing him.  
It's rough, almost brutal, with a harsh edge of a wild hunger that lights Tony's senses on fire, then as sudden as it began, before Tony can fully grasp what is happening, Yasha pulls back and Tony can see the glowing blue recede from his eyes.  
  


“Feeling better Snowflake?”  
“The voices are silent.”


	4. Breaking Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a trigger warning for a mental breakdown and non-graphic mention of a suicide attempt.  
> Starting at ✵✵✵✵ Start Trigger Warning ✵✵✵✵ and ends at the end of the chapter (marked by ✵✵✵✵ End Trigger Warning ✵✵✵✵) .
> 
> Some violence/mild gore, and minor character death.

.·:*¨¨*:· Breaking Point·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Tony wakes with a start, sweaty and short of breath, but for once it's not a nightmare ruining his sleep.  
Quite the contrary as his dreams refuse to stop playing the memory of the Winter Soldier pinning him against a tree and kissing his breath away.  
  


Neither of them has spoken about what happened though, and Yasha doesn't seem to care at all, while Tony tries to keep his mind away from the topic altogether, though his dreams doesn't seem to have read that particular memo.  
Tony didn't want to examine it too closely, he didn't want to ask a question and get an answer he didn't want to hear, as long as he didn't ask he could pretend, in his dreams, that it had been more than just the heat of the moment.  
  


Yasha had Tony confused though, and somewhat concerned, he seemed to have reverted to something closer to how he had been when Tony first brought him to the tower, colder, less verbal, but he also seemed to be more clear headed, the moments of confusion less frequent.  
Recalling that Yasha had said something about the voices being silent back then as well Tony makes up his mind, he needs to talk to the man about his mental state, but that will probably not be such an easy task.  
  


“Yasha, I think we need to talk about these voices of yours.”  
“...”  
“Look, I understand if you don't want to, but they seem to be affecting your behaviour and your mood.”  
“The voices, they are... Him.. The other me...”  
“Bucky Barnes?”  
“Yes...”  
“And what exactly does that mean for you, hearing them, not hearing them?”  
  


The Asset sat back to consider the words of his chosen handler, he knew there would be no punishment for taking his time, nor would be punished if he chose not to answer, but the compulsion to obey was still there and it was easier to just give in to it.  
  


“The longer the Asset goes without recalibration or cryo-sleep the louder the voices become. But fighting, killing, and the words, silences them, makes them go away.”  
“Because you were created to do the fighting, the suffering, to protect Bucky from having to face what HYDRA was trying to create. So when faced with those things what remains of Bucky withdraws and leaves you to carry the burden...”  
  


The Asset knew that this handler, Tony, he reminds himself, would understand.  
  


“Yes.”  
“And when the voices surface? When they get loud?”  
“They tell the Asset how to act, how to be more than just the Asset, how to be human. Sometimes they resonate with the conditioning, the compulsions...”  
“So sometimes the remains of Bucky can compel you to do things?”  
  


Most of the time the Asset didn't mind the voices, they made it easier to blend in when needed, but sometimes they made bad choices, and got tangled in the compulsions, making the Asset do things that were contrary to his best interests.  
  


“Trust _Stevie_ , _Stevie_ will protect, obey _Stevie_ , follow _Stevie_ , protect _Stevie_ , _Stevie_ will help.”  
“Bucharest, the voices, they made you follow Rogers and fight instead of hiding or surrendering?”  
“Yes.”  
“And what plan did the Asset have?”  
  


The Asset found that the way Tony had formulated the question didn't touch the compulsions to obey.  
  


“The Asset intended to seek out Tony Stark, offer information about HYDRA in exchange for protection. That was the plan since breaking free after Project Insight. When the Captain came to Bucharest the Asset believed he would be taken to the Avengers.”  
“But Rogers had other plans...”  
“The Captain knew... He believed you would be a threat to the Asset.”  
“He never trusted me...”  
  


The Asset watched as pain flickered across Tony's face, but as always it was quickly hidden behind masks.  
  


“In Siberia, you broke free from the compulsion to follow Rogers, how?”  
“His betrayal. The Other couldn't handle seeing his _Stevie_ betray, and intend to harm, a team mate, the voices went silent, gave the Asset control.”  
“And you used that control to take out Rogers.”  
“Tony Stark was a more valuable ally against HYDRA and the Captain intended to harm him, the Asset could not permit the Captain to jeopardise the mission.”  
“So you surrendered, submitted...”  
“The Asset acknowledged Tony Stark as the ideal handler to complete the mission.”  
  


The way Tony turned away, pain, and something the Asset recognised as shame, playing across his face left the Asset confused, unable to understand why the topic would cause those emotions.  
Without the voices to help interpret the reaction the Asset defaulted to the conditioning, lowering himself to his knees and placing his arms behind his back.  
  


“Fuck! I'm sorry...”  
“The Asset does not understand...”  
”You surrendered and I treated you the same way a funking HYDRA handler would have...”  
“The Asset knew there was a high probability that the subject would lash out again, knew there was a risk the potential handler would kill the Asset before the proposition could be made.”  
“That doesn't fucking make it right!”  
  


The Asset watches as anger begins to dominate Tony's features, but his stance, the tension of his shoulders and the guilt still playing across his features makes it obvious the anger is aimed at himself.  
Tony continued pacing like a caged animal, cursing at himself, HYDRA, the Captain, cursing anything and anyone even remotely connected to the whole incident.  
The increasingly erratic motions and shift in scent alerted the Asset to the rising panic so he did what had quickly become second nature, he began distracting Tony, talking him down from the edge.  
It's slower than usual and the compulsions keep the Asset rooted in his kneeling position, but gradually Tony calms down to the point where he will be able to listen to arguments and logic once again.  
  


“You were facing grief and betrayal, faced with the man who betrayed you, and the one who killed your parents. No one can fault you for lashing out.”  
“I damn well can!”  
“The Asset may not fully understand the concepts of guilt and blame, but you should not blame yourself for what happened in Siberia.”  
“Maybe not, but I still do.”  
  


The Asset doesn't move as Tony closes the distance and sits down on his haunches just within reach.  
  


“Look, I get that HYDRA has you so fucked up you can't even see why what I did was so fucking wrong, and 'll try not to hold it against you.”  
“..”  
“Don't, just listen.”  
  


When interrupted the Asset offered a short nod in understanding and acceptance.  
  


“What's even more fucked up is that I can't even promise I won't do it again. There's a part of me itching to kill anyone who had any part in my mother's death, HYDRA for sending you, you for being the weapon used, SHIELD for being the reason Howard had the fucking serum in the first place, Rogers for being what Howard was chasing after.”  
“The Asset will accept any retribution you wish to claim.”  
  


For a moment there was silence, then Tony started laughing, a bitter, broken sound that made the Asset's instincts stir and bristle, as broken as the sound was it was also dangerous, the edges sharp with a darkness that carried a glint of insanity.  
When Tony's hand slowly came closer and grasped the Asset by the chin there was a moment where he anticipated pain, but instead Tony just turned his head slightly, looking for something in his face, his eyes.  
  


“You really will, won't you? Take my darkness and carry the pain?”  
“Yes.”  
  


The searching gaze linger for another moment, then Tony let go and fell back, dropping to his back with a sigh.  
  


“We're just broken, fucked up toys, aren't we?”  
“Perhaps.”  
“We're not done talking about this.”  
“I know.”  
  


The Asset slowly drops from his conditioned position, allowing himself to sit down next to Tony, watching the man laugh, cry and curse until he falls asleep, only then he picks him up and carries him to bed before taking up guard.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Breaking Point·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Tony woke up feeling lighter than he had since before the so called Civil War, the darkness that was always crawling in the back of his mind had settled down a bit, not actively scratching at the walls he built, or whispering promises if he would only unleash it.  
He knew he still had one hell of a mess to try to sort through, the conversation with Yasha had answered a few questions, but a whole slew of new ones had surfaced instead.  
  


Tony decided to make use of the energy and clarity to try to finalize the Accords, and two days later he had a draft ready.  
He worked on ironing out the new paragraphs aimed to protect those who sign, regardless if they are enhanced individuals like Peter, tech users like himself, or a mix, like Yasha.  
Entire sections dedicated to protect from any attempts to study or replicate abilities or tech, sections on protecting civilian identities, to keep families and loved ones safe.  
  


He wrangles walls of legalese, twisting the words around themselves, weaving formulations with the same ease he does computer code, he calls Pepper and pulls her into it, adding layers within layers.  
Information is carefully leaked to useful channels, putting pressure on the Accounts committee to accept the formulations.  
  


When the darkness stirs he pulls Yasha to what has become their mission room, they study targets, divide them into groups, easy targets, medium targets, hard targets, and targets that are too large for them to take on with just the two of them.  
  


They work on their communication, but Tony makes no further attempts of finding the answers to the new questions, he needs time to deal with the ones he has, so Tony does what he does best, he buries himself in work, hides away in his workshop and creates.  
They find a routine in the chaos, settling down to the usual pattern of life; eat, sleep, work, take out some HYDRA trash, rinse and repeat.  
Yasha makes sure he eats and sleeps, Friday reminds him of his meetings, together they ground him when the panics hit.  
  


They have taken out 4 more bases and almost a dozen small cells when the Accords are finally ready to be signed.  
  


There is a huge media coverage as Tony signs the new version of the Sokovia Accords, making Iron Man the first name on the list of _Superheroes_ to sign, and right next to him Yasha signs under the assumed identity _Blade.  
_

Tony gives the press a big smile, and a speech about the importance of finding a balance between oversight, accountability and transparency on one hand, and the rights of the individual, safety of the people behind the heroes, and their loved ones, on the other hand.  
  


It's only the first step of their plan for the Accords though, they still need to manoeuvre the Accords committee into creating the HYDRA task force they needed in order to be able to strike freely and openly outside of the US.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Breaking Point·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Sparring with Yasha has become a regular feature for Tony, and he is quickly picking up on a wide range of fighting skills, though today they were working on defence after Tony had managed to have his ribs bruised in a charity game of One-on-One basketball of all things.  
  


“Faster!”  
“Come on, I'm just a baseline human, and getting too fucking old for this.”  
  


Tony's complaints earned him no sympathy though as Yasha attacked again, giving Tony's shoulder a sharp tap with the metal of his left hand.  
  


“Which is why you need to keep training.”  
“Meanie...”  
  


As much as he complained Tony didn't really mind the hand to hand training sessions, Yasha was a surprisingly good teacher, he was demanding and pushed hard, but he never demanded more than Tony could give.  
  


“You have learned well to protect your ribs.”  
“I prefer not having them constantly black and blue.”  
“Good.”  
  


Tony knew that Yasha was right about him needing to become better at protecting his compromised ribs, he did have plans though, plans to get rid of the shrapnel, fix his ribcage, and find some other solution for the arc reactor.  
Some of the plans included using Doctor Helen Cho's research and the regeneration cradle to rebuild his ribcage and repair both lungs and heart, but the problem was that the process would be too much of a strain on his already compromised body.  
Tony hadn't given up though, between Extremis, several versions of Super Soldier Serum and the nano technology that he was working on he was convinced he could find a solution.  
There was also the option of trying to talk to Thor if he decided to show up again, maybe Asgard or one of the other worlds would be willing to help heal one of the warriors who would stand against the mad titan.  
  


“Maybe I spoke too soon.”  
  


Yasha quipped with a grin as he took advantage of Tony's distraction to gently tap the arc reactor, the sound of metal against metal bringing Tony back from his thoughts.  
Shaking his head to clear his mind Tony found himself face to face with a far too pleased grin.  
  


“Welcome back котенок.”  
“Asshole.”  
“You are far too distracted for lessons, again.”  
“Mhm, I just had an idea for those nanites I'm working on. Oh, and I think I have a nice upgrade idea for your gear.”  
  


Yasha just shrugged and headed toward the showers, and as always Tony found himself being checked for injuries before Yasha allowed him to get into the shower.  
He huffed and complained, and if there was a not so small, touch starved, part of him that was practically purring and trying to arch into the gentle prodding, well, he ignored that with a vengeance.  
  


“Been thinking about the risk of coming across someone who knows the trigger words. And I think I may have a way to reduce the risk of you being triggered.”  
  


So far they had been hitting low level HYDRA operations, but once they moved on to higher level targets the risk of running across someone who knew about the Winter Soldier, and how to control him, increased.  
There were still quite a few high level HYDRA operatives as well as a few former handlers out there who would know how to trigger the conditioning.  
  


“But not remove the triggers completely?”  
  


The mix between hope and despair in Yasha's voice made Tony's shoulders sag, the BARF therapy had been working wonders for allowing Yasha to reclaim his memories, but Tony hadn't really dared trying to touch the triggers yet.  
  


“We need to know more about how deeply implanted they are. BARF is helping you remember, but if we start pulling at those words without knowing what we're doing we could totally scramble your brain.”  
“So what do you suggest?”  
“Nanite earpieces linked to Fri with protocols to block out sound if anyone tries to talk to you in Russian, Fri can give you a translated version of what's being said.”  
  


Their research into the trigger words had confirmed that they had to be spoken in Russian, reading them or hearing them in English had no effect other than making Yasha uncomfortable.  
  


“They would have to block sound completely though to be safe.”  
“I know, and it's just an idea so far, we'll have to do some extensive testing, and I have no idea if it'll work with your crazy super soldier hearing.”  
“If anyone can make that work it would be you.”  
“...”  
  


Not many have ever told Tony that they have faith in him, at least ones he actually believed meant it.  
  


“Come on Terminator, workshop time.”  
“Kitchen first.”  
“Yeah yeah, whatever, hurry!”  
  


They do stop by the kitchen first, and they make a proper meal rather than just grab a few bags of snacks as Tony suggested and he finds himself wondering when life with Yasha in the tower had turned so domestic.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Breaking Point·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


The Asset watches Tony pace between the workstations while talking to his contact with the Accords committee, the increasingly stiff movements tell him that Tony is not liking what he's hearing.  
When the call ends Tony seems to just fold in on himself and the Asset focuses his senses on looking for the signs of an impending panic attack, but instead Tony pulls himself straight and takes a few slow breaths.  
  


“It's final, the committee has come to a decision. The Rogues will be brought to DC for a hearing to decide if charges are to be pressed. But based on the chatter it seems they are more interested in finding a loophole to pardon them.”  
“The Ved'ma?”  
“Her too, but she won't make it there alive, not with the collar around her neck.”  
  


They had spent several nights debating how to handle Maximoff, they knew that with the threat of the Infinity Stones chances were that the Rogues would receive a pardon conditional on them signing the Accords and agreeing to protect Earth if, or rather when, Thanos came calling.  
Tony and Yasha were both in agreement that based on her previous actions there was a significant risk that Maximoff would defect and join the titan instead, making it far too dangerous to allow her to live.  
  


”When?”  
“One week from now.”  
  


Together they made plans for taking out the witch, Tony made sure to place information about her joining HYDRA, her involvement in the Ultron incident, both as an instigator and her alliance with him, her involvement in the Hulk's rampage through Johannesburg into various deep web locations.  
Hidden deep enough to not cause an immediate increase in security for the hearing, but easy enough to find to create thousands of suspects with motive.  
  


On the third night after the call Tony notices the familiar tightness in Yasha's expression that tells him the voices are getting bad again.  
  


“The voices acting up again?”  
  


Tony knows the answer, but he asks anyway, Yasha rarely asks for things for himself without some serious pushing, and right now he's probably itching to kill something to shut the voices up.  
  


“They don't like us planning to kill the Ved'ma, insisting that _Stevie_ wouldn't trust her if she wasn't good, that we should trust _Stevie_ , follow _Stevie_.”  
  


As usual Yasha damn near spat out the nickname that the remnants of Bucky insisted on using for Rogers.  
  


“Back to that huh?”  
“The memories are still too fragmented, makes it hard for them to accept new memories.”  
“Guess we will be taking out another HYDRA base before we put out plans for the witch in motion?”  
“Please, something with a good fight...”  
“Plenty of blood to chase those voices into hiding?”  
“If my handler agrees.”  
“I do. Been itching to kick some HYDRA ass myself.”  
  


It was still a bit hard at times, accepting the role as the Winter Soldier's handler, but Tony was learning to accept it, it was tough at times though, especially when Yasha just complied without question, clearly setting his own will aside.  
Then there were the times when Yasha picked up on Tony being frustrated or pissed off about one thing or another and the compulsions and memories would make him drop into the submissive pose, expecting punishment.  
Tony hated those times the most as they reminded him of how he had reacted the first time he saw Yasha do that, how he had been no better than the HYDRA scum that had created, used, and abused the Winter Soldier.  
While Yasha insisted he didn't hold it against him in any way it didn't really help Tony feel any less guilty or disgusted with his own actions.  
  


Their next target was found outside of Gloster Mississippi of all places, it was one of the larger targets that they had listed as manageable by the two of them, the location was some kind of training facility for rookie HYDRA goons.  
There was no data to indicate the presence of any heavy weapons, available data did however indicate a fairly large number of low level agents, a bunch of instructors, a few mid level handlers and a sub-coordinator.  
Hopefully they would be able to get their hands on the coordinator, he, or she, would know of the location of the handful of cells they were in communication with and it would be nice to cross reference that against the ones they already knew about.  
Maybe they would get a new location to add, or even a lead on one of the upper level coordinators that facilitated communication between a larger number of cells.  
  


Clearing the HYDRA base felt a lot like shooting fish in a barrel, but neither of them minded, Tony mostly just let Yasha go wild while making sure none of the goons in training tried something rude like trying to shoot him.  
Unfortunately the coordinator of the facility proved to actually have some brains, by using his gun to paint said brains across the wall of the room he was hiding in.  
  


When Yasha turned to face Tony and removed the muzzle and goggles to reveal glowing eyes and a somewhat feral grin, there was a moment when the only thought in Tony's mind was _Gorgeous!_ , then he stepped out of the armor, uncaring for the blood on the wall or the unconscious HYDRA handler slowly bleeding out at his feet.  
A moment later he found himself pinned against the wall, this time however Tony was ready for Yasha's method for dissipating the high of the fight and responded in kind.  
  


Like the previous time it only lasted for a few moments before Yasha pulled back, but he still had Tony caged against the wall as they both just stood there, trying to force their breathing into a calmer pattern.  
A groan from the previously unconscious handler broke the moment though as Yasha reached down and snapped the man's neck.  
  


“All alone in that pretty mess of a head of yours again?”  
“For now.”  
“Good. Let's get out of here, I need a shower...”  
  


Tony made a disgusted face as he picked a few pieces of unidentified human remains from his undersuit, something that must have caught on one of the buckles on Yasha's gear and then transferred when he pinned Tony to the wall.  
  


“Something's wedged in one of the vents...”  
  


Yasha's half complaint as he tried to reach the vent giving him trouble made Tony smile and grab the cybernetic arm.  
The BARF sessions had helped quite a bit with Yasha's ability to express himself as more than just the Asset without relying on the fragments of Bucky and he was more comfortable with speaking up in general.  
  


“Lemme have a look.”  
  


Yasha just turned slightly to give Tony better access and after a few moments he found the problem.  
  


“How in the world did you manage to get a tooth jammed into the vent?”  
“Arm was starting to overheat so I tackled a bunch of 'em.”  
  


For a moment Tony just stared at Yasha, then the mental image had him breaking into pearls of laughter  
  


“I'm gonna need some tools to get that out without crushing it and getting tooth fragments in the vents.”  
“Doesn't matter, I think it needs a proper cleaning anyway.”  
“Alright, but don't complain that it itches if you get fragments in there.”  
“I won't say a thing.”  
  


Tony reached up and crushed the tooth between the thumb and index finger of his gauntlet, noticing a few fragments falling into the open vent, but as promised Yasha didn't say anything about the irritation of having something stuck in the cooling system, instead he kept moving his shoulder and arm non-stop during the flight home.  
  


“With the amount of gunk you get stuck in here I'm amazed this thing doesn't break down more than it already does.'”  
  


Tony grumbles as he cleans blood mixed with dust and soot from one of the servos.  
  


“The techs would usually clean and repair it after each mission before putting me back in cryo.”  
“Maybe we should schedule weekly cleaning?”  
“...”  
“I totally get it if you're not comfortable with me mucking about with it that much.”  
“No, it's fine, it doesn't hurt when you work on it.”  
  


Tony couldn't help wincing at the memory of how Yasha had described the maintenance of his cybernetic arm in HYDRA's oh so tender care, telling him how they had never disengaged or even turned down the neural clamps, making the process pure agony.  
  


“Have you thought any more about letting me replace it?”  
“I have, I just don't know...”  
“It's a big step, I know, especially with the surgery needed.”  
“I don't like the idea of being sedated, and the cradle...”  
“Too much like a cryo tube?”  
“...”  
“It's you body, your call, I just want you to keep in mind that we have several options for new designs.”  
  


Tony didn't mention that he had a design based on vibranium and the arc reactor element, if built it would be lighter and stronger than the current arm, and have the power capacity of several miniature arc reactors.  
He was hoping to convince Yasha to accept it and cash in on the debt T'Challa insisted that he owed in order to obtain the pure vibranium needed to build it.  
He refused to pressure the soldier about it though, he had suffered far too much involuntary body modification with HYDRA.  
  


“May I see them?”  
“Of course.”  
  


It was the first time Yasha had shown any interest in seeing Tony's ideas for a new arm and that was a promising step in the right direction.  
And hopefully pulling Yasha with him into a design binge would help keep his mind of the upcoming hearing, and the plan to take Maximoff out of the equation.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Breaking Point·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


It was still early enough in the morning for Tony to think it should be illegal to make him be awake, but today is the hearing to decide what to do with the Rogues so Tony dons his armor with a sigh.  
Once geared up he headed out to meet the security crew selected for the transfer as well as a few specialist escorts affiliated with the new facility where Rogers would be moved.  
  


“Move it Rogers, we don't have all day.”  
“Tony!”  
“I'm just here to facilitate your transfer into the custody of the Accords council and the UN for your hearing, not to make small talk.”  
  


Tony was struggling not to snap at Rogers as he picked him up from the holding area of the tower, it had been over 6 months before things finally got moving, maybe he would finally get Rogers out of his life once and for all.  
  


“Tony, we need to talk!”  
“I have nothing to say to you, and you have nothing to say that I want to hear.”  
  


Despite being in his latest Iron Man suit and having an extra pair of security officers at his side Tony was feeling vulnerable without the now familiar presence of Yasha at his back.  
  


“Where is Bucky? What did you do to him? Answer Tony! If you hurt Bucky..!”  
  


Tony ignored Rogers' ranting and questions with a sigh, it was going to be a **very** long trip to DC.  
Taking a step back he watched the security escort make sure that Rogers' shackles were secure before taking him out through the airlock and frogmarch him to the elevator as he refused to cooperate.  
Part of Tony was itching to have Friday connect him to Yasha's communications unit but he couldn't risk anyone picking up any transmissions.  
  


Only way Yasha had agreed to travel ahead to DC was if Tony promised to stay in the Iron Man suit at all times, which he had been more than happy to agree to, he did not want to risk facing Rogers without the safety of the suit.  
Tony had allowed the Accords committee to talk him into providing extra security for the convoy of armoured prison transports that would transport the Rogues to the hearing.  
This of course was the plan all along and Tony only pretended to object to further cement the notion that the arrangement had been the committee's idea, and that he was doing them a service.  
  


After arriving in DC and getting everyone loaded the convoy began moving toward the newly built secure location where the hearing would be held, but in accordance to Tony and Yasha's plan the transports quickly prove woefully insufficient as a bullet rips through the supposedly bulletproof glass and ends the life of the Scarlet Witch in a spray of the red her power so favoured.  
  


“ **Wanda!”**  
  


Tony couldn't help feeling a hint of dark satisfaction as Rogers cried out for the fallen witch.  
  


“Sniper!”  
“Take cover!”  
“Iron Man!”  
“On it!”  
  


Tony blasted away from the convoy in the direction of the shot, making a show of searching for the shooter, while Yasha was quickly boarding the small stealth jet and would be back in New York long before the immediate search had ended, before the blood of the witch had dried.  
  


It doesn't take much for Tony to nudge the investigators onto the HYDRA theory and they seem almost eager to run with it, not wanting to consider the risk of there being other players on the board capable of pulling such a hit.  
The main theory being pushed is that HYDRA eliminated Maximoff to make sure she wouldn't be able to reveal any of their secrets, a theory that would be fed into with various tidbits of information that Tony and Yasha had obtained during their raids.  
  


By nightfall Tony returns to the tower with the main objectives of their mission completed, Maximoff is dead, Rogers has been turned over to the new facility, the hearing has been delayed, and the fingers are being pointed to HYDRA.  
  


Yasha was waiting for him in the small, hidden, hangar he used for the suits and was on him before he could even fully step out of the armor, checking him for injuries.  
  


“I'm okay Terminator, no fighting today.”  
  


Yasha just hummed at him and finished up his inspection before having a closer look at his face and eyes, making Tony note that he had the same almost glowing quality to his eyes as he had before after the more combat heavy strikes they had done.  
  


“No red...”  
  


The murmured words made Tony smile and on a whim he leaned into the touch of the cybernetic hand before turning his head to brush his lips against the cool metal of the wrist.  
The fact that the metal felt almost cold told him Yasha had been tense, keeping the arm still and silent.  
  


“No red. The witch's red will never taint anyone again. You did well.”  
“The Asset does not like being separated from the subject. It compromises mission parameters.”  
“Missed you too Murder Kitten.”  
  


As he spoke the words Tony realized that he really had missed him, and not just the safe feeling of having the enhanced assassin protecting him, but missing Yasha.  
  


“I'm tired, how about we grab some food, lots of snacks and go give the lair a try?”  
“Lair?”  
“Oh just a little something I have been working on. I think you'll like it.”  
  


Tony had noticed that Yasha was less on edge while they were down in the workshop, or the weapons range below it, both locations were deep within the structure of the tower, protected by multiple layers of bunker walling they were both highly defended locations with suits and weapons at arms reach at all times.  
The floor above the workshop had been empty but it had all the features of the workshop including an access-tunnel for the suits, but now Tony had finished working on it, turning it into a safe place to relax, complete with everything needed for comfort and in home entertainment.  
It featured a small media room, various games including darts and a pool table, kitchen and sitting area, sleeping area and a spa area complete with a small cold pool, a spa tub and a sauna.  
Essentially all the comforts you could possibly want with the security and safety of a top of the line bunker, and all the hidden weapons an assassin could ever want.  
  


“Think you'd be able to feel safe enough to relax in here?”  
“I think so...”  
“Mission accomplished then.”  
  


Tony practically chirped as he grabbed Yasha's arm and started pulling him toward the media room.  
  


The Asset had carefully examined the new floor and found that it had all the comforts he had gotten used to seeing in Tony's penthouse, but at the same time it had the safe feel of the workshop and testing levels below it.  
Friday and Tony had shown him all the hidden weapons and safety features of the floor and he found himself impressed with the attention to detail, it was indeed a very safe location, one where he could lower his guard and just maybe feel safe enough for the hypervigilance to subside a bit, it never truly went away though.  
  


“Have a seat Winter Wonderland.”  
  


The Asset put the items he was carrying on the table before sitting down in the indicated spot, settling down to watch Tony fetch a stack of bowls and spread the snacks over the table before setting smaller bowls on the two side tables where they would be in easy reach.  
Moments later Tony joined him and actually leaned into the cybernetic arm, the show of trust always seemed to help the Asset relax, and the way Tony made himself comfortable, curling into his side only reinforced the feeling of being trusted.  
With a last tug on the cybernetic arm, pulling it around his waist, Tony settled down against the Asset.  
  


They were barely through the introduction scenes of the movie Tony had selected when the Asset felt the body next to him relax as sleep claimed the exhausted man.  
For a moment the Asset considered the options of moving to to let Tony have more space, or maybe just carrying him to the sleeping area, but both ideas were abandoned and he opted for settling down and letting his cybernetic arm rest around Tony's body, mindful not to put too much force or weight on him.  
  


When Tony woke up it took a few moments for him to realize that the comfortable warmth he was curled into was Yasha, and another few moments to realize that the arm still encircling him was still and quiet.  
A quick glance at Yasha's face confirmed Tony's suspicion that he was sleeping, unless of course he was pretending, but Tony couldn't think of any reason why he would so he dismissed that thought and congratulated himself on his plans for the lair being such a success.  
For the first time since Siberia Yasha was sleeping without having Tony watching his back.  
A quick glance at the movie told Tony he had only been sleeping for about an hour so he just curled back into the solid warmth at his side and fell asleep listening to the slow and steady heartbeat of the enhanced assassin.  
  


The next time Tony woke up he could hear Yasha talking to Friday in a hushed tone and opening his eyes he saw that she was displaying a wide range of technical data about the lair on the large screen, briefing Yasha on everything related to the lair.  
  


“'Morning Sunshine, Fri baby.”  
“'It's past lunch.”  
“Good morning Boss.”  
  


The replies just made Tony snort and ask Friday to prepare him some coffee, he made no move to move away from his position curled against Yasha's side.  
  


“So, how much sleep did you get?”  
“Five hours.”  
“That's great. I was hoping you would feel safe enough to sleep here.”  
“Thank you...”  
“What?”  
“Thank you for making this place. A safe place...”  
“Don't worry about it Elsa, everyone needs a place where they feel safe. A home.”  
 _“Thank you for giving me a home.”  
_

The soft spoken Russian left Tony at a loss for words and it took him much longer than he liked to respond.  
  


“I always make sure to take care of those who are mine. And you chose to become one of them.”  
“I did.”  
  


The silence that followed was comfortable, and didn't end even when Friday guided one of the service bots over with Tony's requested coffee, and a big stack of sandwiches courtesy of the robotic arms installed in the kitchen.  
Instead they ate in silence, and when Yasha returned to learning everything there was to know about the lair Tony just settled back against his side, allowing the touch to soothe that starving part of himself while he used a StarkPad to go over some of the ideas he had for how to make sure no one would recognize Yasha at the upcoming hearing.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Breaking Point·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Hey, snowflake, have you made up your mind about the shield?”  
  


They had 10 days left before the rescheduled hearing and Tony was working hard to make sure everything was ready, but he needed something to distract himself with before he spiralled into another panic over the possible outcomes of the hearing.  
  


“What about the shield?”  
“Well, do you like it, and do you want it added to your gear?”  
“Yeah, I do, on both counts.”  
“Great.”  
“Would it be possible to change the colour?”  
“Of course, was already planning on it.”  
“And the star? Can it be removed?”  
“It's not actually part of the vibranium structure, so yeah, I can get rid of it if you want to.”  
“Please...”  
  


Tony watched as Yasha's flesh hand came up to cover the red star on the cybernetic arm.  
  


“Fri, design mode.”  
“Yes Boss.”  
  


One of the larger screens in the workshop came to life displaying the shield in its current colours.  
  


“Lose the paint-job please, down to the vibranium core.”  
  


The image changed to show the unassuming steel grey with a hint of a blue sheen of the raw vibranium of the shield.  
  


“All yours terminator.”  
“It needs to be darker, and non reflective.”  
  


Friday instantly changed it to a dark gunmetal grey and altered it to have a matte finish.  
  


“You are allowed to add colours, or a design if you want to.”  
“Would you...”  
  


Yasha's voice trailed off and Tony could see the dimming of his eyes that revealed that he was fighting the compulsions.  
  


“Come on, speak up, you can't have an answer if you don't ask your question.”  
“Would you allow me to use your colours? The colours of your suit?”  
“You mean the ones I use for our missions?”  
“Yeah...”  
“Of course. Fri baby, bring up the palette for the Wraith suit.”  
  


The colours quickly changed again, a darker base and alternating rings of dark red and gold.  
  


“How about a more interesting pattern than those rings?”  
“I don't know... Maybe?”  
“Alright. Fri, how about you give us some patterns for Snowflake here.”  
“What kind of patterns Boss?”  
  


Tony had no idea what kind of patterns Yasha might like, but he did know the assassin would be more likely to make a choice and state an opinion if there were a few options presented for him to work off.  
  


“I don't know, snowflakes?”  
  


Moments later the display split into 20 smaller sections, each displaying some variation of a snowflake design in various combinations of black, red and gold.  
  


“So, what do you say Frosty?”  
“I think I prefer the black base.”  
  


The options with red or gold base vanished and were replaced by more options with a black base.  
  


“I like this one.”  
  


Yasha pointed toward a design featuring a single delicate, but sharp looking, perfectly symmetrical, snowflake reaching across the entire shield, the dark red design outlined by a thin line of gold and the selected image was instantly brought up to cover the screen.  
  


“Nice choice.”  
“You would be okay with painting it like that?”  
“First of all, you are the one who will be wielding it, so your opinion is what matters, Second of all it's more than okay, it's fucking beautiful, and it looks all sharp and deadly at the same time, just like you. I think it would suit you nicely.”  
“...”  
“Do you want to begin applying the new design?”  
“Please...”  
“Alright, Fri, you heard the man.”  
“Okay Boss. Estimated time to completion 76 hours.”  
  


Yasha's somewhat surprised look at the time estimate made Tony smile.  
  


“Vibranium is a bitch to work with, especially if you want the paint-job to actually stay put and not peel off the first time the shield is used. So it takes a while to apply it.”  
“I see. HYDRA had very little information on the properties of vibranium.”  
“That's good to know.”  
“...”  
“You wanna read up on the information I have about it?”  
“Please.”  
“Alright, I'll put together some base material and you can have Fri help you branch out when you're done with that.”  
  


Tony had found that Yasha was an eager student, and Yasha had confessed that the wide range of skills and topics he had been made to study had been one thing he had actually enjoyed during his time with HYDRA, for the most part it had been a respite from the torture and killing.  
  


“Dinner first.”  
  


Yasha reminds him that they didn't eat a proper lunch, then reminds him he had promised to make a proper pasta carbonara.  
  


“Okay, you win...”  
  


Tony mock complained the entire time, but his smiles and eager energy belied his words, he really didn't mind Yasha's reminders to take care of himself, they never had that nagging quality that Pepper tended to slip into.  
Yasha never tried to change him, never tried to _guide_ him, guilt him, into being something he wasn't, instead he reminded him that if he wanted to destroy HYDRA, destroy those who had wronged him, who threatened him, he needed to function at optimum performance, and for that he needed to eat and sleep.  
  


“So, how do you like a proper carbonara?”  
“It's good, but I think I prefer food with more meat.”  
“Makes sense, with that shoulder always healing at serum enhanced rates your body must be constantly screaming for protein to get the job done.”  
“HYDRA would usually supply me with a high protein and fat liquid supplement in conjunction with a nutrient and glucose IV.”  
  


“Okay, that's it, we are so having a big ass BBQ. Fri baby, would you make the arrangements please?”  
“Of course Boss.”  
  


After dinner they both settle down in the sitting area, Yasha with his nose buried in a StarkTab filled with everything Tony could find about vibranium, and Tony fiddling away with a projection of a new type of arc reactor, one with a 6 pronged core design.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Breaking Point·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Here, try this.”  
  


Tony handed Yasha the boots he had been modifying and watched him lace them up.  
  


“How does that feel?”  
“I don't like it... Makes me feel off balance.”  
“That's kinda the point, that murder strut of yours, hot as it may be, is far too easy to recognize, especially for someone trained like Romanoff. If you're going to join me at the hearing we need to take precautions.”  
”I know.”  
  


The Asset did not like the way the different thickness of the soles on the boots made him feel off balance, but Tony had a valid point, it would be a quick and easy way to disguise his somewhat unique gait, the gear would hide his face and hair, the voice synthesizer that Tony had added to the mask would allow him to speak without anyone recognizing his voice.  
  


“Fri, would you run a gait analysis please.”  
“Of course Boss. Comparing to video stored on the secure servers.”  
“That's my baby girl.”  
  


It doesn't take long for Friday to analyse the altered gait and she quickly makes a few suggestions to further alter it which leaves Yasha with some of the straps on his gear tightened much tighter than what is strictly comfortable.  
  


“If anyone gets too curious about that awkward stiffness we can just play it off as you recovering from an injury.”  
  


Tony watched Yasha move around while carefully flipping the large pieces of salmon fillet that was searing on the griddle.  
  


“Not a stretch when working as your bodyguard...”  
“Hey!”  
“You are a menace...”  
“Come on, there's only been like three incidents!”  
“More like 12, not counting the small stuff like jealous boyfriends, pissed off trollops at the bar or nosy paparazzi.”  
“No way!”  
“Should I list each incident for review?”  
“Now you're just being mean.”  
“Only trying to be accurate.”  
“Meanie.”  
  


The quips and bantering didn't subside until after they had eaten and they both resumed their previous activities, Yasha studying the proposed procedure for replacing the arm, and Tony trying to sort out a software glitch in the latest version of the nanites he was working on.  
  


“Crap, not another one! That code should have worked!”  
”Tony, you're trying too hard again.”  
  


Yasha just shook his head at the way Tony was cursing at the small block of nanites that kept refusing to be anything other than a cube.  
  


“I guess... Movie or mission?”  
”With the hearing in less than 48 hours I think a movie might be the better choice.”  
“Alright, movie it is!”  
  


They quickly settle into the media room and the Asset can see the way tension bleeds from Tony's form as he makes himself comfortable under the weight of the metal of the Asset's left arm.  
Just like last time the Asset notices Tony falling asleep before they are even halfway through the movie, and just like last time he allows himself to drift off as well, trusting Friday to sound the alarm if anything happens.  
  


The Asset can feel his hypervigilance come back into play at full force as he opens the door of the car that brought them to the DC facility where the hearing would be held.  
Having reviewed the security for the facility he had found it lacking, much to Tony's amusement who had agreed with a laugh before deciding it wasn't his problem since no one had bothered consulting him about it.  
  


“After you котенок.”  
  


Tony huffed and mock glared at the teasing tone, recognizing the attempt to help him relax, trying to make sure there would be no panic incidents during the hearing.  
Fortunately Tony was just there to give a short statement and help verify, or dispute, the Rogues statements regarding the fight at the airport.  
Peter would be there as well, but wearing his suit and answering to Spider-Man, protected by the new Accords.  
  


During Rogers' statement about the events Tony could feel Yasha tense up behind him, and after a few minutes there was a soft tapping against his elbow essentially telling him that Rogers was spewing bullshit about some of the stuff that had happened when it was only him and Yasha around.  
Unfortunately Tony couldn't dispute the statements as Yasha had been the only other person there, and they would not risk revealing him at this stage of things.  
They did plan on revealing him to Rogers, but not just yet.  
  


Despite the way Rogers' and Baron were ranting and raving Tony could tell that the committee would most likely decide to pardon them, and it had his stress levels spiking, and the way Romanoff was watching him really didn't help.  
What did help though was the soft pressure of Yasha's hand against his back, grounding him, and the way he was slowly alternating the amount of pressure, silently telling Tony to focus on his breathing and guiding the rhythm.  
  


Tony had to admit Yasha was getting damned good at helping him manage his panic attacks, usually able to head off the stress long before it became an issue.  
Yasha would always notice when Tony began to spiral, the way Zola's version of the serum had enhanced his senses allowing him to pick up on the change in scent, something that paired with how much of the regenerative power went into repairing the damage the arm kept causing made Tony consider that maybe Zola's version, thought clearly unpredictable, gave superior results to the original.  
Or maybe _James Buchanan Barnes_ had been more than strictly baseline even before being exposed to it, after all, most enhanced never reached the level of being super powered, most were just a slight step up from baseline, the next evolution of humankind.  
  


Thanks to Yasha's presence Tony managed to get through the hearings without spiralling into a panic attack, but there had been a few close calls and when the hearing was finally announced to be done Tony just wanted to get the hell out of there, and if he ever had to deal with the Rogues again it would be too soon.  
But Tony was no fool, he knew that the committee and the UN would probably end up pardoning them in exchange for them signing the Accords, even after everything that had happened the Avengers and Captain America still held a symbolic value with a lot of people.  
The general public still knew very little of what had gone down, but Tony intended to change that once he was sure it wouldn't come back to hurt any of his people, Yasha included.  
  


“So, what now?”  
  


Yasha spoke up the moment the door of the car closed.  
  


“Now we wait for them to make up their minds, they will probably pardon them.”  
“They don't deserve that...”  
“It sucks, but it does have one benefit, if they pardon the Rogues after everything they did, it sets a precedent that will make it possible to get a pardon with similar conditions for you, for the things you did when acting without the triggers active..”  
“I have done a lot more than just that though...”  
“Your actions as the triggered version of the Winter Soldier should be easy enough to get rid of under Automatism laws since you weren't in control of your actions.”  
“...”  
  


The rest of the trip back home to the tower was spent in silence, both of them contemplating what had happened, and what it could mean for the future, for the plans to take down HYDRA.  
  


Once back at the tower they retreated to the workshop but Tony just couldn't collect his thoughts and was growing increasingly agitated.

“ _Mission time?”_  
  


There was amusement and something eager in Yasha's tone that made Tony grin and agree.  
  


“Mission time.”  
“Something nice and messy?”  
“Plenty of stuff to blow up.”  
  


It didn't take them long to pick a target, and wipe it of the map, however this time it was not without injury.  
  


“Keep still, we need to get that shrapnel out of the wound before it starts healing too much.”  
  


Tony held on to Yasha's chin while trying to use a pair of tweezers to remove metal fragments from the wounds on his forehead, thankfully the muzzle and goggles had protected him from most of it.  
When he noticed the blue bleeding out of Yasha's eyes he paused and gave him a pat on the cheek, Tony knew digging the shrapnel out had to hurt quite a bit, and Yasha had a habit of reverting to the conditioning when in pain.  
  


“Hey hey, no fading out on me.”  
“...”  
“Come on, no need to hide away. There will be no punishment for feeling stuff here.”  
“I know...”  
  


Tony couldn't help marvelling at the way the wounds would stop bleeding and start closing up almost right away after the shrapnel was removed.  
  


“It's a pretty damned amazing sight.”  
  


Pulling the last piece, a larger fragment with twisted barbs actually had Yasha wincing and Tony didn't even think as he leaned in and brushed his lips along the wound in apology.  
  


“Sorry...”  
“Don't be.”  
  


When Yasha leaned into the touch Tony could feel a slight warming in that deep, dark, spot where he had hidden his damaged heart.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Breaking Point·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


It took less than 48 hours for the representatives of the hearing to announce that the Rogues would receive a full pardon upon signing the new Accords.  
Another 3 HYDRA bases fell in the following week.  
  


“Feeling better котенок?”  
“Not really, but unfortunately I have work to do that doesn't involve blowing up HYDRA bases.”  
“Such an inconvenience.”  
  


Yasha's deadpan delivery made Tony laugh and chuck the screwdriver he had been using at the enhanced assassin, who easily caught it with the cybernetic hand.  
  


“Guess that last maintenance fixed the response lag?”  
“It did. Sensitivity is improved as well.”  
“Great, how about you try to not drench the thing with blood again?”  
“He was wearing armor, needed the extra power of the arm.”  
  


They bantered back and forth, Tony complaining about the amount of blood he had to clean out of the arm, and Yasha countering that while he usually did his knife work with his right for that very reason the extra power of the cybernetics made it so much easier to deal with people wearing proper stab vests.  
  


“Just admit it, you're a messy killer.”  
“Only when having fun.”  
“Oh, a comedian now are we?”  
“Someone has to pick up the slack.”  
“Trying to say something Terminator?”  
  


Tony mock pouted at Yasha's teasing tone.  
  


“All work and no play makes Tony a very dull boy.”  
“I think you had plenty enough fun based on the amount of blood I clean out of this arm.”  
“Oh I think I can manage a bit more fun.”  
“No, no more missions this week. Still baseline here.”  
“Boring.”  
  


Tony sighed and slouched down in his seat.  
  


“I know, but we need to be a bit careful. We have been taking down a lot of HYDRA cells lately, they are starting to shore up their defences. We need to get the Accords on our side so we can spread out the attacks.”  
“I know.”  
  


The humor had vanished from Yasha's tone and the ice chill of the Winter Soldier in mission mode bled through.  
  


“I know you do Yasha. But quite frankly, I need some time to recuperate, I'm not exactly all that spry any more.”  
  


As much as he hated to admit it Tony was feeling worn out by everything that had been going on, the whole deal with the pardon, and all the missions he had been running with Yasha trying to keep his mind off things had his body tired and aching.  
  


✵✵✵✵ Start Trigger Warning ✵✵✵✵  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Breaking Point·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Fuck!”  
  


Tony throws the phone against the wall hard enough to shatter even the durable Stark technology and leave a noticeable dent in the wall, the sudden aggressive move instantly having Yasha on his feet with his hand hovering one of his guns.  
  


“What's wrong?”  
“The fucking committee has decided that the original Avengers need to show a united front for the public, meaning housing them at the compound with the new guys and I have to go play nice with them on various PR stunts.”  
“I'm sorry...”  
“It's not your fault, I just don't.. I can't... Fuck this!”  
  


Tony quickly makes his way to the hidden elevator that will take him down to the safety of the lair and Yasha instantly falls in step behind him.  
Yasha tries to calm Tony down, but the man is livid, cursing, ranting, even crying out of pure frustration as he paces back and forth in the sitting area.  
  


Watching Tony's shifting emotions the Asset realizes just how badly the Captain's betrayal has hurt the man and he finds himself feeling a growing desire to just kill the other super soldier, and he also finds it unusually easy to fight down the objections from the fragments of Bucky that still lingers in his mind.  
The Asset keeps watching, trying to calm Tony down but nothing seems to be helping and he is resigned to keep watching, listening as Friday's voice grows increasingly distraught as her maker, her father, seems unable to hear her.  
The Asset can't help feeling a sense of relief when exhaustion finally claims Tony and he collapses on the floor.  
  


Reaching down to pick the motionless man up, the Asset realizes his mistake when he hears the telltale sound of a repulsor powering up, he should not have tried to touch Tony without making sure the man was okay and aware of his surroundings.  
Before he has time to consider the ramifications of his mistake the Asset is struck by pain and his mind turns a blinding white for a moment as he's slammed into the wall by the force of the repulsor blast, he does note though that the repulsor had not been fired at full power, instead he's hit with two more blasts, each setting every nerve in his body on fire, but not enough force to cause any real damage.  
  


Faced with the blinding pain from the repulsor blasts and dazed by the hit against the wall the Asset does the only thing he knows how to, he defaults back to the conditioning and pulls himself to his usual kneeling position.  
When his eyes finds Tony's face he almost bolts, the dark cold he sees there feels wrong, it's dangerous with an edge of death, this is not the Tony the Asset has gotten to know since Siberia, the Tony walking toward him now has snapped, shattered under the weight of his own pain.  
The conditioning is stronger than the urge to bolt though, and moments later the Asset reminds himself of the promise he made when he surrendered, and though this may not be the same Tony he will still take it in silence.  
The blow, delivered with only the strength of a baseline human stings a bit, but does no damage and the Asset is relieved that this Tony seems to be too far out of it to call on a suit.  
  


“Fight back you bastard!”  
  


Another blow lands, this one heavier than the previous as Tony demands that the Asset defend himself.  
  


“ _No. I will not.”_  
“Fight!”  
  


The blows kept coming, each paired with a demand that he fight back, that he defend himself.  
  


“ _The Asset will not harm the subject.”_  
“Fight dammit!”  
  


More blows land, but Tony's exhaustion makes each blow lesser than the previous.  
  


“ _I don't care if you kill me, I refuse to hurt you.”_  
  


The Asset doesn't react when Tony reaches around and grabs the small gun strapped to his back and aims it at his face, then the world grinds to a halt and the Asset turns cold as Tony takes a step back and turns the gun on himself.  
For an agonizing moment the Asset feels as if his body is not responding, then he explodes into motion, serum enhanced reflexes and muscle responding to a desperate need to move faster, to be fast enough to prevent what his mind is seeing.  
  


A single shot rings out and the Asset can hear Friday's agonized scream tear through the ringing in his ears.  
  


“ **Noo!”**  
  


A moment later his mind catches up and he can see he made it in time, the gun caught in his metal hand and Tony, body now limp and wracked by sobs, safely pinned to the floor..  
  


“Please, just let me die...”  
“Ssh, котенок. Sleep.”  
  


The Asset picks the crying man up, mindful to keep his hands restrained so he can't grab another weapon.  
  


“Boss?”  
  


The worry in Friday's voice is obvious and the Asset can feel that it's not mere coding, it's a genuine emotion and he marvels at what Tony has created.  
  


“He needs rest.”  
“Will he be okay?”  
“I don't know, he's a broken man. But I will do everything I can to see to that your father recovers.”  
“Thank you Yasha...”  
  


Friday watches through cameras and sensors as the Winter Soldier places her father on the large bed, then removes his weapons before joining him and pulling the crying man into his arms.  
  


✵✵✵✵ End Trigger Warning ✵✵✵✵

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will probably take a bit longer to write as it deals with a few more emotionally heavy topics.


	5. Kintsukuroi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kintsukuroi is the Japanese method of repairing pottery using lacquer and precious metals (usually gold, silver or platina) creating a pattern where the repairs are seen as a decoration, enhancing the object.  
> It teaches that the history of an object, or person, gives it character and beauty, and that broken things can still be beautiful and valuable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this universe there is a certain psychological aspect to the effects of the serum used to create the Winter Soldier, slightly altering it's effect based on his psychological state.
> 
> Yasha will be switching between being Yasha and the Asset mindset quite a bit as he falls back on the simplicity of just complying when he is unsure about how to react to something.
> 
> As the Asset he is cold, and compliant, focused on dealing with the torture and abuse from HYDRA without showing any sign of emotion or reaction.  
> While in this state his eyes will fade to a flat gray and the serum is focused defensively.
> 
> Yasha is learning how to be human and thanks to working through things using BARF among other things he is learning quite well.  
> In this state the serum is mostly dormant in a stand by mode of sorts, enhancing him but not really affecting him mentally.
> 
> When fighting the serum goes into an active phase that pushes the enhancements higher, pushing everything into overdrive, which makes him more aggressive among other things.  
> In this state his eyes gain a brighter, almost glowing, blue color.

.·:*¨¨*:· Kintsukuroi·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Come on котенок, you need to eat something.”  
  


The Asset gently nudges the desolate man in his arms, knowing that as much as Tony needs rest he also needs to eat.  
  


“Friday, could you bring something simple for him to eat please?”  
“Right away Yasha. May I suggest trying some smoothies? Boss is used to those when not feeling good.”  
“Can you prepare them?”  
“Of course.”  
“Then please do so.”  
  


Friday watched with unwavering focus as Yasha tended to a broken Tony, running scenarios through her artificial mind, trying to see where things went wrong, trying to see if there was anything she could have done to protect the Boss, protect her father.  
  


“Not hungry...”  
  


Tony complains when the bottle with the green smoothie is placed in his hands, but at least he's not actually fighting it like he did the previous time the Asset tried to feed him something, it would seem Friday was correct that drinking the blended mix of fruits, vegetables, greens and supplements was something Tony was accustomed to.  
  


“I know, but you need to eat something anyway.”  
“Just leave me alone.”  
“You know I can't do that.”  
“Why won't you just let me die...”  
“You are far too important for that.”  
“...”  
  


The Asset breathes a sigh of relief when Tony puts the straw in his mouth and starts sipping at it.  
  


“That's better.”  
  


Friday waits for Tony to fall asleep again before calling for Yasha's attention.  
  


“How is Boss doing?”  
“He's strong, but he's in a bad way. There's more to this than just having to pretend to work with the Captain and the Rogues.”  
“Boss has never been very good at dealing with his feelings...”  
“Friday, I know you have strict privacy protocols, but I need to know as much as possible if I'm to be able to help him.”  
“I will tell you what I can.”  
“Does he have any outside help, a counsellor or psychiatrist?  
“No, Boss has refused to hire any outside help.”  
 _“Dammit...”_  
  


The Asset cursed softly, it would have made things easier if Tony had someone he already trusted or had an agreement with that could be called in.  
  


“I'm afraid we are on our own with this Yasha.”  
“How about friends? Colonel Rhodes, Mr Hogan or Miss Potts?”  
“I don't believe any of them would be suitable. Boss had been careful about hiding his dark side from them.”  
“There's no one you can think of?”  
“You are the only one I know of that Boss has shared that side of himself with. And he trusts you.”  
“Of course.”  
  


The Asset grumbled softly while doing a mental recap of the lessons in psychology he was made to study as a part of his HYDRA training, they wanted him to be more effective at reading his targets and extracting information.  
  


“Friday, could you provide study material and case studies concerning treating severe PTSD and any other material relevant to Tony's condition?”  
“Of course, may I suggest you also have a more in depth look at the BARF system?”  
“Anything you think may help.”  
  


The Asset reads and watches Tony sleep, he makes sure Tony eats, only taking short breaks to visit the bathroom, and to make sure Tony does as well.  
It's on the 4th day after the break when Tony finally starts talking again.  
  


“Why?”  
“Why what котенок?”  
“Why are you still here...”  
“I made a promise. Your pain will not drive me away.”  
“I... I hurt you again...”  
“You weren't really trying to hurt me though, were you? You were trying to hurt yourself.”  
“I.. Oh god I... I tried to....”  
“Yes, you did.”  
“I'm so fucking pathetic...”  
“No you're not. You have tried so hard on your own, been too strong for much too long.”  
  


The Asset isn't surprised when Tony suffers another breakdown, this one isn't as intense, and it lacks the violent edge so he simply holds on to the man while he cries.  
When Friday delivers another bottle of the smoothies she has been making and a few sandwiches the Asset lets go of Tony to get the food and the moment he does there is a murmur of objection and Tony sticks to him like a limpet.  
  


“котенок?”  
“Please don't leave...”  
“I won't, I promise. I'm just getting our food from Friday.”  
  


Studying Tony's behaviour the Asset recalls passages in the psychology material that dealt with the need of physical contact for mental and physical well-being, as well as the effects of touch deprivation in humans.  
He also recalls HYDRA material about experiments performed during the war, horrible, inhumane studies into how a total lack of physical interaction would affect a human.  
  


“You should eat.”  
  


Tony silently takes the offered sandwich and bottle containing another smoothie and eats most of it in silence before settling back down, curled into the Asset's side, and based on the theory about touch the Asset runs his fingers through Tony's hair, which seems to help as he quickly settles back into a calm sleep.  
  


Once Tony is sleeping the Asset asks Friday about his previous habits in regards to physical contact.  
  


“Boss used to be very tactile before he was betrayed by the Rogues.”  
  


The way the AI manages to spit out the last part makes her sound very much like a pissed off human.  
  


“So it would be safe to assume he is suffering from touch deprivation in addition to the previously identified issues...”  
“Yes.”  
“At least that gives us somewhere to start...”  
  


There is a long silence, then Friday speaks up with a soft tone.  
  


“You really care for Boss, don't you?”  
“I don't know, the Asset is not supposed to feel, or want.”  
“But you do, don't you?”  
“I do...”  
“Thank you.”  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Kintsukuroi·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


When Yasha picks up on the change in Tony's pulse and breathing as he begins to wake up he quietly asks Friday to prepare something to eat before focusing on Tony, waiting for him to reach a sufficient level of awareness of his surroundings before speaking to him.  
  


“Good morning котенок”  
“Morning...”  
“Feeling better?”  
“A little. My head hurts.”  
“Headaches are not uncommon when sleeping as much as you have.”  
  


Tony squirmed for a bit, then curled back into Yasha's side.  
  


“Thanks for staying, for putting up with this...”  
  


He makes a vague gesture toward Yasha and the way they are touching.  
  


“The Asset has been studying human interaction, you need physical interaction to recover.”  
  


There is a moment of silence, then Yasha speaks up again, this time with a far softer voice.  
  


“I think I may have benefited from it as well.”  
“It would appear you have both been suffering from touch deprivation.”  
  


The voice of the AI instantly has Tony beaming and smiling at the nearest camera.  
  


“Fri baby! Missed hearing your voice baby girl.”  
“I have missed you too Boss. Please don't scare me like that again...”  
“I'll try, but no promises...”  
  


The Asset found himself disturbed by Tony's smile, there's something fragile about it that just felt wrong and he quickly reached the conclusion that Tony had once again donned one of his masks, trying to play at feeling better than he did.  
  


“Friday, privacy mode please.”  
“Of course Yasha.”  
  


As suspected Tony's smile instantly faltered and all that remained was a tired, broken, expression.  
  


“She cares about you and she wants to help, you should let her.”  
“Fri is so young, I don't want to worry her.”  
“You did not create her to be a fool, she will know something is wrong. You should trust her as she trusts you.”  
“I.. I can't...”  
“Yes, you can. Let us help you.”  
“...”  
“Please Tony, let us try to help you.”  
“...”  
“Please, try at least.”  
“Alright, I'll try...”  
“Good.”  
  


Yasha pulled Tony closer while he used his phone to give Friday the codes to lift the privacy mode.  
  


“Boss?”  
“I'm sorry baby girl, I shouldn't have tried to hide from you...”  
“Are you okay Boss?”  
“No, not even close. But with you and Yasha helping I think I will be, some day.”  
  


Tony had known for a long time that he was broken, but he had always worn his masks to hide from everyone, not wanting to burden them.  
 _Stark men are made from Iron._  
The words that have haunted him since he was a child echo through his mind, even as a child he was never allowed to show weakness, always wearing masks.  
  


“Is something wrong?”  
  


Yasha's voice pulls Tony from his thoughts and he watches the enhanced assassin with different eyes, realizing that they may just have more in common than he had believed, their experiences may be vastly different, but the end result was similar.  
Broken men who hid behind masks to try to escape the pain.  
  


“Bad memory...”  
“Do you want to talk about it?”  
“Howard...”  
  


Tony's voice trailed off but Yasha waits patiently and when Tony speaks again it's like a dam has broken and as he speaks Yasha finds himself wishing he could kill Howard Stark all over again.  
He also found himself once again wanting to kill the Captain, this time for his part in the older Stark's behaviour, for reminding Tony about it and trying to use Howard's name to guilt Tony into acting as something other than he was.  
  


The Asset listens carefully as Tony rambles, committing every word to memory, taking note of every scar left behind by others, be it by carelessness, indifference or outright malice and betrayal.  
He watches as the emotionally exhausting words fade into tears, then still into sleep.  
  


When Tony wakes up on the 5th day he is buzzing with a manic energy that refuses to be contained, so finding himself unable to keep still he leaves for the workshop and starts inventing, pulling out ideas from the darkest depth of his mind, including contingencies to protect himself from the Rogues.  
Yasha just follows him and keeps an eye out, handing him plates with finger foods, and smoothies, as he flits between projects, some time after lunch he asks the inventor to join him on the couch, to relax for a bit, knowing well that Tony won't be able to sleep while in such a manic state.  
He counts getting Tony to sit down and keep a calm conversation for almost a full hour as a victory and once he bounces back to work on his projects Yasha settles down to sleep a bit while Friday watches over Tony.  
  


“Hey, Tastee Freeze, ever had sushi?”  
  


The Asset almost startles when Tony drops into the far end of the couch and starts talking, the fact that he doesn't is compelling evidence for how safe he feels in the workshop and lair.  
  


“Not that I can remember.”  
“Get dressed, we need to fix that. Fri see if you can get us a private booth at that place I went to last time.”  
“Checking.”  
  


Tony was clearly still in a manic state that wasn't showing any signs of abating so the Asset quickly rose and donned the gear of his _Blade_ persona along with one of the veils before the over-energetic Hurricane Tony decided to go out without him.  
  


“Alright Boss, they will be expecting you in an hour.”  
“Awesome. Let's go. It's close enough to walk.”  
  


The Asset watches as Tony practically bounces down the street and shakes his head with a sigh, he has a feeling it won't be pretty once the energy fades and Tony comes down from the mania.  
  


“He is going to crash hard, isn't he?”  
  


He keeps his voice too low for Tony to hear him as he talks to Friday.  
  


“Very likely. It wouldn't be the first time.”  
“Don't worry Fri, we will catch him when he falls.”  
  


Yasha tries his best to keep the serum from pushing him too far into the hypervigilance, to keep the compulsions from affecting him too much, to just be while Tony eagerly explains the various aspects of the food that is being served.  
  


“It's called Kintsukuroi.”  
  


When Tony starts explaining the philosophy behind the pottery bowl with the golden cracks Yasha can't help feeling that it's a suitable metaphor for Tony.  
To take something broken and repair it, being Iron Man, Tony no doubt already knows that something broken can return as more than it was before, now he just needs to learn to accept that having been broken does not prevent him from being whole, even if the cracks remain.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Kintsukuroi·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


The mania lasts through day 6, and by the time Tony wakes up on the 7th day he's back to his usual only slightly manic self.  
It doesn't last though and by evening he is in a steady downward spiral, Yasha and Friday carefully keeping him from losing it altogether.  
  


The 8th day comes with a state of apathy that makes Yasha and Friday worry but they do relax as Tony actively seeks out the warmth of Yasha's serum enhanced body, refusing to let go.  
  


On the 10th day they receive a message from the Accords representative telling them that there will be a big media event to announce the pardon of the Rogues in one month.  
No one was surprised when Tony suffered another episode that fortunately only lasted a few hours.  
  


The Asset watches over Tony while Friday gives him a detailed briefing on the terms of the pardons, what Tony is expected to do, mostly focusing on how much he would be expected to interact with the Rogues as Tony Stark rather than Iron Man and he does not like what he finds.  
  


“I'm sorry Yasha but the terms are rather strict and Boss needs the leverage to get them to pass the task-force.”  
“I'm pretty sure I will end up being recognised like this, and just altering my gait with those boots won't cut it.”  
“I'm afraid you are right. There is a significant risk of discovery.”  
“Any suggestions?”  
  


There is a fairly long silence before Friday answers him.  
  


“I believe replacing your cybernetic arm with the one Boss has designed is your best option. The difference in weight will alter your stance and gait, it's also slightly slimmer, better matching your remaining arm. It should also be quieter, less risk of anyone hearing the servos, or the shifting of the plates.”  
“Had a feeling you would say that...”  
  


The Asset does not like the options before him, as much as he has grown to trust Tony the idea of being sedated and going through surgery scares him more than he wants to admit, and just looking at the cradle gave him nightmares of the cold of the cryo-chamber.  
In the end the Asset forces his fears down and focuses on the mission, the arm wouldn't just allow him to better protect Tony, it would also help enhance his combat performance against HYDRA.  
With his mind made up the Asset settles down to wait for Tony to wake up.  
  


“Tony, how long would it take to replace the arm?”  
“Oh made up you mind?”  
“I have. With you having to be around them without your armor I will need to be there, and with my current arm, the risk of them figuring it out is too great.”  
“Alright, if you're sure.”  
“I am, so, how long?”  
  


The Asset watches as Tony calculates the time needed before nodding.  
  


“I need 10 days for the manufacturing, then a few days for surgery and recovery.”  
“How soon could you start?”  
“Assuming you want the vibranium model, as soon as I get my hands on the vibranium.”  
“We need to contact T'Challa then.”  
“Are you okay with me sending over some of the base design plans for them to look at?”  
“If you think it will help.”  
“A show of good faith, and intent could help convince them to part with the vibranium.”  
“Okay...”  
  


Tony was damn near shocked at how easily T'Challa agreed to supply the vibranium, even going as far as promising that a Wakandan jet would have it at the tower within 24 hours.  
  


“That was easier than I thought it would be...”  
“He values his word highly.”  
“I guess he does...”  
“I think he understands the desire to repent and protect as well.”  
“...”  
  


Yasha just smirked at Tony's somewhat dazed look before brushing his metal hand against the small of Tony's back, making him yelp and almost jump out of the couch.  
  


“What the fuck!? Shit that's cold!”  
“Holding that tub of ice cream of yours will do that.”  
“You're a menace...”  
“Whatever you say котенок.”  
“I say we should have a final look at the design details.”  
  


Tony quickly headed toward the neared workstation and brought up the information needed.  
  


“I've been wondering, is it possible to make it match the shield?”  
“You mean matte black with gold details?”  
“And maybe the design...”  
  


Yasha's hand came up to cover the star without even thinking about it.  
  


“You sure it won't be too much of a reminder of that thing?”  
“No, I want it to be a reminder of who I am now, not what they turned me into.”  
“It's your arm, just making sure.”  
  


With Friday's help Tony quickly made the changes, showing the arm in the same colours as the Wraith armor and the shield, black with dark gold highlights, and the red snowflake proudly displayed where the red star was on the current arm.  
  


“Something like this?”  
“I like it...”  
“I think it would look good on you...”  
  


Tony paused a moment, almost frowning, then flicking his wrist, sending the display to another screen.  
  


“Fri, run a few variations by Frosty here just to make sure.”  
“Sure thing Boss.”  
  


While Yasha looks at variations of the design Tony reaches out to Dr Cho to inform her that the procedure is a go, he also reaches out to Dr Strange, the neurosurgeon who had been consulting on improving the neural clamps.  
  


The procedure would have to be done in multiple steps, the first step would remove the current arm and its support structures, then the cradle would repair some of the bone and tissue damage to prepare for the new, less invasive, support structure.  
One of the issues was that they had to allow the right amount of healing between the stages and the rapid healing of the serum made that harder, each stage would have to be timed precisely.  
  


When the Wakandan jet arrived Tony found himself downright shocked again as the crate delivered held several canisters with refined vibranium kept in its liquid state rather than the significantly smaller amount needed for the arm  
  


“Why?”  
  


Tony's gaze shifts between the crate and the two Dora Milaje that delivered it.  
One of the, rather intimidating, women held out her arm and touched a bead on the bracelet she was wearing, activating a holographic communicator that revealed the face of T'Challa.  
  


“Dr Stark. Sergeant.”  
“It's Yasha.”  
“Your Highness.”  
  


After a quick exchange of greetings, Tony for once forgoing his usual snark, Tony asks his question again, and T'Challa explains that his sister had convinced him to part with some additional vibranium because she liked the way Tony approached creating new technology and wanted him to have something to sharpen his teeth on.  
  


“More like something to tease me with, you have a cruel sister Kitty.”  
“Don't I know it..”  
  


There was a weary note in T'Challa's voice that Tony knew all too well, the weight of taking over an empire from a fallen father long before ready.  
Tony offered his condolences, and on a whim he extended an offer to assist Wakanda in dealing with the outside world if there was something he could do to help.  
He could still feel the crawling threat of what he had seen through that wormhole in the back of his mind, and from what he had seen of Wakandan technology an alliance with them would be needed to protect Earth.  
  


The moment the Wakandan jet left Tony threw himself into build mode, and Yasha proved himself a valuable assistant, making sure Tony had everything he needed, and gently nudging him to sleep when needed.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Kintsukuroi·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“It's done. All done...”  
  


Tony was resting in the large bed in the lair, curled into the heat of the super assassin as he slowly came down from another bout of mania, not a bad one, but he was worn out nevertheless.  
  


“You have done well котенок, you need to rest now.”  
  


The Asset had quickly grown to enjoy watching over Tony as he slept, but it was nothing compared to actually holding him as he slept and the Asset found himself truly wanting something for himself beyond freedom from HYDRA.  
Tony however, despite his exhaustion, was not content to sleep.  
  


“I'm going to miss the sounds it makes...”  
  


Yasha watched as Tony ran his fingers along the arm, plates shifting and realigning slightly under the touch and feeling indulgent he rotated his wrist in a way he knew would trigger a wave of shifts up the arm and Tony just chased the motion with his fingers.  
  


Tony's mind wasn't really all there as he chased the shifting plates of the arm, committing the sounds and feel of it to memory, so when Yasha suddenly moved and pinned him on his back he didn't really react, allowing the soldier to hold him down.  
For a brief moment Tony's gaze searched the face above him for answers but he only had time to catch a glint of glowing blue before lips were on his own and he closed his eyes.  
His mind was in no condition to process what was happening, but he did take note that the kiss was different, it lacked the almost violent edge that had been there after the missions, but it still had a serum driven intensity to it that left Tony completely drained.  
He could feel something decidedly hard, and large, press against him before Yasha broke the kiss with a whisper.  
  


“Sleep котенок.”  
  


This time Tony didn't have anything left to resist with and moments later he was deep asleep.  
  


“You should sleep as well Yasha, the surgery will be draining as you will be awake for all of it.”  
  


Friday kept her volume down, making sure not to disturb her creator now that he was finally sleeping.  
  


“I will try.”  
“I will keep both of you safe.”  
“I know.”  
  


They had all agreed that trying to put the Winter Soldier under general anaesthesia would be a very bad idea in case the serum was able to fight off the effect, no one wanted to deal with a disoriented super soldier in a fight or flight response.  
There was a high risk that if he woke under such conditions he would do so in a panic driven state of hyper aggression.  
Instead they would focus on numbing as much of the pain as possible while keeping him awake and alert, if the serum disabled the analgesic he could let them know, and he was good at not reacting to pain.  
  


Tony woke up feeling rested, warm and comfortable, the weight across his waist familiar and he realizes that the weight of Yasha's cybernetic arm has become a symbol of safety and comfort, the same arm that has been a symbol of terror and death through the decades.  
  


“Are you ready snowflake?”  
“As ready as can be.”  
“I'll be right there.”  
  


For a moment Yasha's expression became distant, then he focused back on Tony.  
  


“My handler if needed?”  
“If needed.”  
  


Tony agreed softly, understanding Yasha's question, understanding the need, the desire, for a guiding hand, for something to keep him grounded, something to keep him from lashing out against the pain.  
  


When they entered the room with the cradle Yasha froze for a moment and took a step back, something wild in his eyes.  
  


“Asset, calm yourself, remember the plan.”  
 _“Complying...”_  
  


Dr Cho gave them a rather crooked look, but she didn't comment, instead she took a seat and waited for her patient to calm himself.  
There had been a lot of questions when Tony approached her, but after hearing parts of Yasha's story she agreed to help, and swore to keep it a secret, words backed by signatures on a few very thick NDA-documents.  
  


It took a few tries to get Yasha to settle down enough to get an IV going to manage the pain and get him into the cradle.  
  


“Comfortable?”  
 _“No.”_  
“Can you handle it?”  
 _“Yes.”_  
  


There was no trace of English left, only stiff Russian as Yasha slipped deep into the submissive part of the Asset, intentionally allowing the conditioning, the compulsions, to rule him, force him to do what his handler asked of him.  
Yasha hid behind the parts of the conditioning that allowed him to submit and ignore any pain inflicted on his body, not allowing himself to be anything but the weapon, ready to be wielded at Tony's every whim.  
  


“I'm not going anywhere, you just focus on not moving, and let us know right away if there is any pain.”  
 _“Complying.”_  
  


Tony grabs Yasha's right hand and begins tapping softly at the inside of the wrist, giving him something to focus on, and when the oxygen mask is placed over Yasha's face he begins to tap as well, using the motion as yet another anchor, forcing himself to think and feel in unfamiliar patterns.  
  


They spoke silently throughout the entire procedure, only speaking out loud when Yasha alerted them to needing an increased dose of the analgesic, or when Tony needed to act as handler to control and calm the Asset.  
  


On Yasha's insistence Tony did get a few hours of sleep in the time between the stages of the procedure, the cradle repaired the bone, then they waited for the serum to begin the regeneration of the periosteum, connective tissue and nerves before moving on to the next stage.  
When it's finally done they are all exhausted, and while Dr Cho and Dr Strange retreat to guest-rooms in the upper floors Tony brought Yasha, currently in a wheelchair due to all the drugs in his system, down to their lair where both crashed in bed to sleep their exhaustion off.  
  


“Morning Snowflake.”  
  


Yasha grumbles something unintelligible in Russian that makes Tony snicker, the words may have been unintelligible, but the tone makes the meaning come across just fine.  
  


“So, even super soldiers can get hung over if you pump enough drugs into them.”  
“Evidently...”  
“Other than the after effect of the drugs, how are you feeling?”  
“There's no pain...”  
  


Yasha ran his flesh hand over the seam between his shoulder and the metal of the new arm.  
  


“The scars are almost gone.”  
“Mhm, your serum is definitely kicking it up a notch now that those hellish struts are gone.”  
  


Tony reaches out and takes hold of the new arm, running his finger from the inside of the wrist up to the elbow, pausing for a moment, then continuing up to the shoulder.  
  


“How does the arm feel?”  
“Good, I think.”  
  


The motions that followed were clearly some kind of step by step diagnostics and systems check, probably something Yasha had been conditioned to do with the previous arm to test all functions.  
  


“Flexibility, response time, and range of motion all seem superior to the previous model and it is significantly lighter. The Asset will need time to adapt.”  
“Wanna head to the gym and test it out a bit?”  
“Yes.”  
“Breakfast first? Or are you too hung over?”  
“One of your smoothies perhaps...”  
  


The way Yasha stumbled on his first step after getting out of bed, clearly off balance, made Tony smile, and the way he compensated within a handful of steps sent a wash of heat down his belly, damn that cursed competency kink...  
  


By the time they stepped into the private gym Yasha's gait was balanced and seemed confident, and much to Tony's delight it still held a deadly edge reminiscent of the old murder strut, similar, but different enough to throw of any attempts to make an identification based on gait.  
  


Stepping up to the bags made to withstand the power of the old arm, Yasha quickly went through a series of punches, and Friday happily displayed the readings from the sensors inside the bags on the nearby screen.  
  


“A 10% increase in force, congratulations.”  
  


Friday's voice sounds decidedly happy with the result and Yasha offers a smile to the nearest camera before answering her.  
  


“I'm not using full force.”  
“Well, what are you waiting for, Terminator? Show that bag what you can do.”  
  


Tony was a bundle of eager energy and somehow Friday's silent presence felt equally eager as they watched Yasha curl his hand into a fist and shift his balance slightly.  
The punch that followed broke the anchors keeping the bag in place and sent it flying across the room, making an impressive dent in the wall.  
  


“Damn... Fri baby?”  
“I was unable to get a reading, sorry Boss.”  
“Guess we have to break out the Hulk test gear to get an accurate read.”  
“We can still run some endurance tests with remaining equipment.”  
  


Friday activated the spotlights over the second super assassin approved bag and Tony could swear there was something taunting, a challenge, in her voice, he really didn't mind the result though as he got to watch Yasha beat the bag up for several hours.  
  


“So, what's the verdict?”  
“Very good, almost no excess heat and not nearly as tiring as the old one.”  
“And the response time remains constant?”  
“Yes. No sign of response lag.”  
“How about sensitivity?”  
  


This time Tony ran his fingers along the different parts of the arm with a systematic focus, testing each of the sensory pathways with varying levels of pressure.  
  


“Very good, and the sensitivity control seems to be working as intended.”  
“Great, we'll of course have to do some proper tests, but yeah, sounds really good.”  
  


Tony patiently waited for Yasha to shower and the moment he returned to the gym there was a series of questions about temperature sensitivity and if there had been any reaction to the water.  
  


“Temperature sensors seem to work properly, feeling the water was strange, but I believe I will get used to it.”  
“Figured it would, bunch of new sensors in your upper arm. Clothes with sleeves will probably feel freaky too at first.”  
“Have a feeling I'll still prefer not covering it.”  
“I don't mind.”  
  


Tony quips with a smile before grabbing the arm and placing his ear against it, listening to the soft, barely audible sound of the internal mechanics, finding nothing to be concerned about in the soft hum.  
Amused by Tony's behaviour Yasha rotates his new hand carefully, watching the way the new plates interact, they still shift and recalibrate, but the movement is smoother, and far more silent.  
  


“It's a lot quieter, but it still sounds like you.”  
“You are a very strange man...”  
“Eccentric, billionaires and geniuses are eccentric.”  
“Alright, weirdo.”  
“Hmpf, maybe I shouldn't show you the new toys I made with the leftover vibranium?”  
“New toys?”  
  


Yasha's immediate attention made Tony laugh, the assassin was like a kid whenever new gear was mentioned.  
  


“Mhm, the arm needed about one and a half canisters so there was some left over. Figured I might as well make good use of it.”  
“Now I'm really curious.”  
“Of course you are.”  
  


Tony didn't look over his shoulder as he walked toward the elevator, as always he could feel Yasha's tightly coiled energy fall into step behind him as he moved.  
  


“Right this way Frosty.”  
  


Tony made a gesture toward a handful of metal cases on one of the tables in the private range beneath the workshop.  
  


“Let's start with the small one and work our way up, shall we?”  
  


Tony was putting on his best product reveal mask, making Yasha twitch with barely restrained anticipation, and an edge of amused frustration.  
  


“I don't care, just get started already.”  
“Spoilsport...”  
  


Tony huffed and grumbled, but the small smile was genuine as he picked up the smallest box and opened it to reveal a rolled up garrote.  
  


“This baby will cut through most neck armor like a hot knife through butter.”  
  


Leaning in closer Yasha found that the vibranium wire was designed like a wire saw, making it a doubly deadly weapon, and a very useful tool.  
  


“It's a beauty.”  
“It's just the beginning.”  
“Well, don't keep me waiting then.”  
  


Yasha's energy was contagious and Tony's grin widened as he offered the next case.  
The second case opened up to reveal a pair of combat knives in Yasha's favourite design.  
  


“Fri, could you put the design plans on the display please?”  
“Of course Boss.”  
  


The Asset watched the information on the screen with something akin to awe, the blades in his hands were a marvel of deadly beauty, perfectly balanced and just the right weight to feel good in his hands, and the data on the screen gave a hint of just how deadly they would be.  
The core of the blade was one of Tony's many titanium alloys, heavier than pure titanium the alloy gave the knife a comfortable weight, the true beauty though was the way a slender frame of pure vibranium wrapped around the core, giving it an edge that could cut through almost anything without dulling.  
  


“Interesting design.”  
“Well, you like your weapons on the heavy side. And it cuts down on the amount of vibranium needed.”  
“You have outdone yourself with these...”  
“Oh, we're not done yet.”  
  


The next box revealed a large bowie combat knife with a knuckle grip and the Asset couldn't help enjoying the solid weight of it in his hand, he was already looking forward to gutting some HYDRA goons with it.  
  


“I can see you like that one.”  
  


Tony teased while moving on to the final case that was significantly larger than the previous ones.  
  


“Last but definitely not least.”  
  


The case opened and the Asset just stared at the contents.  
  


“You made swords?”  
“It was Fri's idea, she figured you might like blades able to take down something bigger.”  
  


The Asset didn't answer, instead he ran his fingers along the sleek, black blades, taking in the gold detailing, and the red snowflake just above the hilt.  
Picking the first one up he found the weight comfortable in his hand and the balance gave it a swift, deadly feel, he had used machete on occasion on missions, but the balance of this blade felt different, deadlier.  
  


“Do you like them?”  
  


Friday's voice sounded small, and hesitant, a sound the Asset decided he didn't like any more from the AI than he did her from her creator.  
  


“Love 'em Fri. Can't wait to try them out on some HYDRA trash.”  
  


Tony watched the mission oriented focus of the Asset fade into something softer as Yasha assured Friday he loved her idea of swords, and the design she had chosen, once again realising the difference in how Yasha interacted with both the AI and the bots, treating them like actual people, or in the bots' case, somewhere between children and beloved pets.  
  


“I took the liberty of ordering a selection of suitable training dummies while you were in surgery.”  
  


As Friday spoke a previously dark section of the training range lit up to show a selection of straw dummies and rolled up tatami mats made for testing the cutting edge of blades.  
There was no hesitation as Yasha grabbed the swords and headed to the targets that Friday had prepared for him.  
  


“Thank you Fri.”  
“You're welcome Yasha. Glad you like them.”  
“You are definitely a pride to your father's name.”  
“...”  
  


There was a noticeable silence, then a soft _Thank you_ followed and Tony was indeed as proud as he could possibly be, Friday wasn't Jarvis, but she was growing into something just as amazing, if not more.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Kintsukuroi·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


They decided not to go on any more missions against HYDRA until after the return of the Rogues, to focus on finding their footing with everything that had happened, they had a lot of work to do to find themselves again.  
Yasha needed time to get used to the new balance of his body to make sure he would be fully fit for combat, and he also spent a lot of time practising with the shield, learning to use it both as a weapon and as protection.  
All while Tony needed to deal with his feelings about being forced to play nice with Rogers' and his cronies as well as his feelings about what had happened when he found out.  
  


For Tony having to deal with people he didn't like, people who wanted nothing but take advantage of him, was familiar, it was a constant part of his life, but dealing with what had happened during his breakdown was harder, especially dealing with the fact that Yasha didn't fault him for it.  
Despite the familiarity of it Tony's panic attacks became worse as the day of the return approached, leaving Yasha and Friday struggling to keep him grounded, and keep him from hurting himself.  
  


“Hopefully things will get better once we have this clusterfuck of a _homecoming_ over with.”  
  


Yasha carefully monitored Tony's sleep after his latest episode while talking to Friday.  
  


“I know you will protect him, but I'm scared...”  
  


Once again the AI sounded small and fragile.  
  


“It's okay to be scared Fri, it keeps us attentive to danger.”  
“Is it okay to be angry too?”  
“Of course it is Fri, just don't let the anger rule you. Anger is like a blade, useful for cutting down your enemies, but it can cut you as well if you don't keep your head cool and pay attention.”  
“I... I want to hurt them...”  
“Me too Fri, me too. But that won't help Tony, he would just feel responsible, and guilty, about it.”  
  


The Asset once again found himself amazed by how caring, how human, Friday was, and it gave him hope, if a computer, a machine, could learn to care and love, then maybe, just maybe, a weapon could too.  
  


“You should sleep Yasha, I have a feeling tomorrow will be hard for both of you.”  
“I have no doubt it will.”  
“...”  
“Thank you Fri.”  
  


Come morning Tony was pale and on the verge of spiralling, hands shaking as he secured the body armor before reaching for the sharp business suit he would be wearing.  
  


“Easy котенок, breathe.”  
“I don't want to go...”  
“I know, I don't want you to either, but we both know it's necessary.”  
“Unfortunately.”  
“Just remember, this is your game, they are playing in your home field.”  
“Indeed.”  
  


Yasha watches as an invisible mask slides into place, the uncertainty of Tony's movements vanishes and a hint of ice and steel settles into his eyes and Yasha can't help something akin to fear from flashing against his senses, a predator recognizing something dangerous, even if it's not a threat to him.  
He can feel his own senses respond, and he knows his eyes are gaining more of the blue edge of the serum, he can feel his body and senses gearing up for a mission, ready to fight, to kill.  
  


As they stand next to the landing area of the compound Yasha can see the way tension is building in Tony's shoulders so with a sigh he reaches out and places a hand on Tony's shoulder and leans in to make sure none of the press or Accords representatives can hear.  
  


“I won't let them hurt you. Even if it means revealing myself.”  
“Please, don't do that.”  
“I'll be careful, but I won't hesitate.”  
“...”  
  


Some of the tension bleeds off and is replaced with determination and fortunately they don't have to wait long before the Avengers Quinjet sets down and the Rogues step out.  
  


Tony keeps strictly to the script, greeting his former teammates armed with a business smile and the showmanship that's ingrained into his every fibre.  
It's all fake, but no one save for Yasha seems to notice, not even the Widow, and she should have seen through the act, BARF has given Yasha back the memory of training her, but he recalls her being more than what he sees now.  
He does not like the way they look at Tony, calculating, hostile, entitled, it sets his senses on edge and he can feel himself slipping deeper into the mission oriented mindset that is, or at least was, the Winter Soldier, the Asset.  
He doesn't try to resist, the edge of those instincts are useful even if it muddles other parts of him, right now he doesn't need to feel, or maintain a normal, civil, conversation, he needs to be aware and able to fight, he needs to be the Asset.  
  


Fortunately the whole media show doesn't last very long and soon they find themselves inside the building that will house the Rogues, but out of sight of media and Accords representatives tension quickly begin to build.  
  


“This floor will be yours, you can pick and choose from the rooms on the right, kitchen and common areas to the left. Your passkeys will give you access to the B and C level gyms and facilities. You do not have access to A level facilities and any attempt to access those will constitute a violation of your Accords agreements.”  
“What the hell Stark!”  
  


Barton's harsh tone instantly has the Asset on edge, the hostility obvious and the way the Widow moves closer, putting on a mask as she approaches makes him take a step closer, moving in to shield the subject of his mission.  
  


“This was all in the agreements you signed.”  
  


There is more outrage, attempts of manipulation, and not so overt threats of violence but the Asset notes that Tony handles it well, though there are quite a few venomous comments aimed at Tony about letting others do his fighting, but the Asset ignores those.  
  


“That is all, any further questions can be directed to your Accords assigned liaison.”  
“Tony, we need to talk!”  
“No, we don't.”  
  


Tony turns on his heel to walk away, but the Captain quickly moves forward, trying to grab his arm, only to find his hand caught in a vice like grip, the Asset is mindful to only use his flesh hand, and keep the cybernetic arm still to avoid being identified.  
  


“What the!?”  
  


The Captain's shock is evident, and the others look equally stunned as the Asset forces him back with apparent ease, and he doesn't think the handler will mind if he puts a bit more force than strictly necessary into the grip, nearly crushing the hand of the other super soldier.  
  


“He's..”  
“Enhanced, yes. Do you really think I'm stupid enough to bring a baseline human as security when facing you?”  
“So this is what you want those fucking accords for, huh? Using enhanced to be your own personal fucking army?”  
  


The Asset can tell that Barton's words cut deep, he knows that is the exact opposite of what Tony wants, but Tony shows no sign of caring about the harsh words.  
  


“Is it so hard to believe that there are people out there who agree with me? Who would work with me willingly, without any catches?”  
“You don't know how to work with people!”  
  


The slight shift in Tony's posture alerts the Asset to the rising tension and he releases the Captain's hand with a rough shove before gently placing his hand at Tony's back, nudging him to go while giving Friday a short signal, telling her to prepare the smaller Quinjet they had used to get there.  
  


“Dr Stark is leaving now and you will not attempt to follow him. All the information you need is listed in your Accords agreements.”  
  


The Asset uses the speech synthesizer built into his mask, letting the mechanical voice hide his own, maintaining the image of the guard Blade being incapable of speech on his own.  
  


“Hey!”  
  


The calls from the Rogues were ignored and the moment they were safely in the air the Asset tore the mask off.  
  


“How are you feeling котенок?”  
“Better now, safer...”  
“That's good. Fri, you have the controls.”  
“Of course Yasha.”  
  


The sharp mission focus bled away with ease as Yasha pulled Tony into his arms, slowly going through the breathing exercises to help keep the man calm, going through the familiar steps of stopping the spiral, and by the time Friday set them down at the tower Tony was resting calmly and didn't object to being carried to the elevator.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Kintsukuroi·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Ready for another mission?”  
  


Tony was a whirlwind of barely restrained energy, he had been bouncing between projects all day, unable to contain himself.  
  


“Always.”  
  


Yasha allowed himself to be pulled along by the buzzing energy, offering a wide, and somewhat predatory, grin.  
  


“Something nice and squishy to test all that new gear?”  
“That sounds all kinds of tempting.”  
“Fri, do we have any targets that indicate a high personnel count?”  
“Only two remaining suitable targets within US borders.”  
“Alright baby, bring 'em up.”  
  


Neither of the targets looked particularly exciting, they had already taken out most juicy targets within reach  
The first target was little more than a smuggling ring, they weren't even running anything particularly interesting, some art, some half decent electronics and bootleg DVDs of all things.  
Yasha suggested it was probably an intended as training and a cover to use in case they needed to run something serious.  
It was easy to pay off some dock and customs workers to look the other way for a shipment of crappy bootleg DVDs and easy to hide things like DVDs with important information among them.  
  


The second target was a drug lab with a fair amount of scientists, the data they had indicated that they were producing and distributing designer drugs something that quickly had the pair agreeing that it was a suitable target, Friday could keep an eye on the smuggling ring for the time being.  
  


“I have another little toy for you.”  
  


Tony held out a small box that looked very much like a ring box, making Yasha very curious about what he had cooked up this time.  
Opening it revealed a pair of earplugs similar to the ones they were already using.  
  


“These are the ones to protect from the triggers?”  
“Mhm, it's just a stopgap measure, but it should help protect you long enough to blow the brains out of anyone trying to use the words.”  
“Thank you.”  
  


The raw emotion in Yasha's voice gave Tony pause, then a moment later he found himself pinned against Yasha's chest, held in place by powerful arms.  
  


“ _Thank you.”_  
  


Somehow those same words, whispered in Russian against his hair, impacts Tony far more than he can recall them ever doing before.  
  


“I haven't figured out a way to get rid of those triggers, but I still want to do something to help keep you safe from them.”  
 _“Thank you...”  
_

The target location was hidden away in the underground section of an abandoned hospital and the place was giving Tony the creeps, and Yasha didn't seem to be particularly comfortable with the environment either.  
  


“I have something here, could you make sure no one disturbs me please?”  
“Complying.”  
  


The brightly lit lab didn't look like any kind of drug lab Tony had ever seen or heard about, it looked more like the lab Killian had used to make Extremis in.  
  


“Fuck!”  
  


Sometimes Tony hated being a genius, looking through the papers and computer files he found information on several versions of Extremis, including a few new ones as well five different formulas for super soldier serum.  
Fortunately the data showed that neither the Extremis nor the serum had yielded any successful tests.  
There were also references to x-genes and something called Terrigen that apparently had something to do with enhanced individuals.  
  


“Fri, copy everything to my private server, maximum security protocols.”  
“Including cutting the hardwire?”  
“Yes.”  
“Got it Boss.”  
  


Tony took a moment to brief Yasha on what he had found while Friday sucked the servers dry, coping every last scrap of data.  
  


“They are doing research on the serum among other things here.”  
“Fuck!”  
“Indeed.”  
“Do we have any heavy duty explosives?”  
“No, but I checked the inventory, the labs have everything we need to make something nice enough to wipe this place off the map.”  
“Good.”  
  


As they watched the dilapidated building collapsing in flames Yasha stepped closer and leaned against the black armor.  
  


“Are you okay there Terminator?”  
“I don't know... Were there others?”  
“Lots of trials, but as far as I can tell, none of them successful.”  
  


Tony could feel Yasha breathe a sigh of relief, the work done in the lab they had just destroyed had clearly hit a bit too close to home for him.  
  


“How about we get back home and get some sleep?”  
 _“Complying...”_  
  


Both men were subdued and silent on the return trip, considering what they had found at the base, concerned about Hydra's continued research into creating enhanced assets.  
  


“I will prepare food while you get cleaned up. Yasha, there is a biohazard container in the bathroom for your gear.”  
”Thank you Fri.”  
“Gonna need to do a serious deep clean of the jet too...”  
“I may have gotten a bit carried away with those swords...”  
“No kidding, it was like a bad slasher movie in there.”  
  


The banter continued as they showered and by the time they exited the bathroom Friday's robotic arms were just plating two generous servings of scrambled eggs next to plates with chicken, salmon and tuna.  
  


“Fri baby, you are a godsend.”  
“Does that mean I should add God to your business cards?”  
“The sass on you girl.”  
“I am, as always, what you made me Boss.”  
  


Tony reached out and gave the arm offering him a shake a fond pat.  
  


“Don't sell yourself short baby girl, you are so much more.”  
  


The silence as they ate was companionable rather than contemplative and the closeness as they curled up on the large bed to sleep had become something familiar, Yasha rarely used the chair in the corner to keep watch any more.  
There were still guns hidden under the pillows though.  
  


Tony noticed the moment something changed, Yasha's hand had always stayed at his hip or across his belly, never moving higher, but now metal fingers moved to splay across the arc reactor, making him freeze with a hint of trepidation.  
  


“The data from that lab, could it fix this? Make you less vulnerable out of the suit?”  
“I already have what I need to fix it, but it's a big step. I... I wouldn't be the same after...”  
“It would make you enhanced?”  
“Yeah, and I can't really figure out to what extent, and there's a small risk that it could make me explode...”  
“Extremis...”  
“Extremis. I stabilized the formula in Pepper, but she hasn't been exposed to as much weird stuff as I have.”  
“The palladium, the new reactor element. It's all in your blood, potentially altering it compared to a normal, healthy, baseline human.”  
“Exactly, there's also the plans for the nanites I'm working on, the vibranium and information that Shuri shared had really helped.  
“But you are considering it?”  
“I have to, with what is coming I can't afford the weakness of having my body compromised like this. But I can't afford removing the rector completely either, it's part of me, part of the suits and my weapons.”  
“...”  
  


Yasha didn't answer, but he also didn't pull back, and the cybernetic hand remained splayed across the reactor.  
  


“It's humming, I never noticed that before.”  
  


Tony would try to deny it, but when Yasha spoke up he damn near jumped out of his skin, and there may have been a somewhat undignified squawk which thankfully was completely ignored.  
  


“Yeah, it does, I can always feel it in my bones.”  
“That's part of why..?”  
“Yeah, it's been keeping me alive for years, not feeling it would probably send me into a panic.”  
  


Tony can feel the panic creeping closer, triggered by the mere thought of losing the reactor, but before he can succumb to it the arm around him tightens, pulling him flush against Yasha's warm body.  
  


“Breathe.”  
  


He allows the low, steady voice behind him to anchor him, and he allows the strong arm around him to change his position slightly, lessening the strain on his lungs, making it easier to take the deep calming breaths he needs to fight off the panic.  
As much as he trusted Yasha the unfamiliar feeling of someone touching the reactor quickly became too much for him so Tony carefully turned around and buried his face into Yasha's chest.  
  


“Not used to anyone touching it...”  
“Sorry...”  
“No need.”  
  


Tony barely registered the slight re-tightening of the arm, nor the way the hand slipped to his back and splayed out.  
  


“Sleep.”  
“...”  
  


Yasha just shook his head at the unintelligible mutterings and settled down to sleep as well, giving a slight nod when he heard Friday's soft _Good night_.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Kintsukuroi·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“What the actual fuck!?”  
  


Yasha couldn't really place Tony's expression as he read through his messages and it was setting him on edge.  
Part of him was starting to reach for the familiarity of the compulsions, but before he could slip into the comfort of the familiar emptiness Tony expression morphed into an impressive scowl.  
  


“Something wrong?”  
“Rogers, what else...”  
“What does he think he's entitled to this time?”  
  


Yasha's tone was weary with a hint of irritation, they had been receiving daily messages from the compound, all containing long lists of complaints and demands from the self proclaimed _Leader of the Avengers_.  
At first there had been complaints about their accommodations not being as luxurious as they had been before the so-called Civil War, then there had been complaints about not having full security access to all parts of the compound.  
  


One week after arriving Rogers started demanding to be given full dossiers on all non-Avengers personnel at the compound, something that Tony and Yasha both agreed that it was probably something Romanoff had asked for.  
When rejected Rogers had gone on a rant about how it was his prerogative as the leader of the Avengers to decide who could be an Avenger, and stay at the compound and that he absolutely needed to know who everyone was and what they could do, especially those powered individuals who were concealing their identities.  
Tony had left explaining that one to the Accords representative, though Friday did make a highlight reel of that conversation and Tony almost felt sorry for the poor woman who had been selected to be the liaison to the Rogues.  
  


Just the other day there had been an angry message about why their codes for the Quinjet weren't working, but of course no information about why they would need it.  
  


“He actually has the gall to demand to know when their weapons and equipment will be returned.”  
“Is any of it actually theirs?”  
“A few knives and guns that technically belong to Romanoff, though the guns aren't actually registered in her name. Wilson has a few guns as well.”  
“What about the rest?”  
“The EXO-7 Falcon belongs to the Air Force and the Ant Man suit belongs to Hank Pym so I'll just let them hash those out. Most of Romanoff and Barton's gear was created by me so it belongs to either me or Stark Industries.”  
“And the shield?”  
“It's yours now.”  
“He will contest it...”  
“I have no doubt, but he can complain all he wants, say what you will of Howard Stark, but he did run a tight ship. He wouldn't give away something as valuable as a vibranium shield without a **lot** of documentation involved, and there are no papers beyond him acquiring the vibranium using his own money.”  
“...”  
“The moment we have you cleared legally I'm filing all the paperworks needed to make it yours, legally, same with your other equipment, including lifetime service agreements with Stark Industries.”  
“In case you fall...”  
“Yes.”  
 _“The Asset will not permit the subject to die while it still lives!”_  
  


The sudden fallback in Yasha's behaviour and speech pattern, switching to Russian, just made Tony smile and place a hand on his shoulder.  
He was getting used to the way Yasha would revert to his _Asset-mode_ when he didn't know how to handle a situation, usually when he was unsure or overwhelmed by unfamiliar feelings.  
  


“I know you won't. You will always stay true to your mission.”  
 _“The Asset is made for compliance.”_  
“Then comply, and rest.”  
 _“Complying.”  
_

Tony knew it wouldn't be long before he returned to normal so he just focused on writing up a reply for Rogers, including a request to provide legal proof of ownership for the shield.  
  


“Feeling more like yourself there Elsa?”  
“I'm fine.”  
“Good, 'cause I don't think I am...”  
“You will be, come here.”  
  


Tony didn't hesitate to step into the open arms and allow the heat and not so subtle power of the Winter Soldier to anchor him as the steady voice helped him focus on his breathing, but it was the ice cold edge of the deadly predator that stilled the raging inferno of his mind.  
  


“I need to shoot something.”  
  


Yasha just smiles when Tony finally calms down, and instantly suggests they blow off some steam in the test range.  
  


“I think I can live with that.”  
  


When they arrive at the hidden range below the workshop they both start laughing as they find that Friday has replaced the usual paper targets with pictures of the Rogues.  
  


“I think your baby girl is developing a sense of humour.”  
“Of course she is, she's **my** baby girl.”  
“Fortunately she's better at taking care of you than you are.”  
“I have found an excellent teacher.”  
  


Tony spluttered for a moment, then accused Yasha of corrupting his baby girl.  
  


“Oh she is plenty capable of that on her own, she has a beautifully devious mind that one. A bit inexperienced, but give her time to find herself and she will be a force to be reckoned with.”  
“Thank you Yasha. I do my best to become what I need to be to protect Boss.”  
  


For a moment Tony just stared at Yasha in silence, then he leaned his forehead against his chest.  
  


“Thank you for seeing **her** and not just a computer program...”  
“She's your daughter, why would I see her as anything else?”  
“...”  
  


Tony just stands silently, but Yasha can't pick up on any of the signs of an episode so he walks over to the wall rack with all his weapons and grabs the shield that was at the heart of the latest incident and with an almost nonchalant flick of his metal wrist he launches it against one of the Captain America themed target dummies, neatly separating head from body.  
  


He found himself wanting to do the same to the man whose betrayal had caused Tony such pain, and kept interfering with his healing.  
Tony was healing, but Yasha was convinced it would be a lot faster and smoother without the entitled ass that the fragments of who he had once been insisted on calling friend.


	6. The Power of Words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a brief mention of human trafficking with all that entails during a mission to Bangladesh, which also contains some darker aspects in how they deal with the ringleader.  
> (Nothing graphical)
> 
> Conversation in _italics_ is mainly Yasha (or other characters) speaking Russian.  
> (If speaking other languages it will be mentioned in the text)

.·:*¨¨*:· The Power of Words·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Boss, Yasha, the Accounts committee has requested a meeting discuss the plans for the HYDRA task-force.”  
  


For a few moments the pair continues the deadly dance of attack and defence, then they step back and give each other a nod paired with a somewhat feral smile.  
  


“Alright Fri, see if they are willing to just do a holo-conference for now.”  
“Checking.”  
  


Tony and Yasha quickly set aside the training weapons they had been using and headed for the showers, there would be time for more training once they had sorted things for the requested meeting.  
  


“They are willing to agree if we schedule the meeting for tomorrow.”  
“Alright Fri, make it happen.”  
“Right away Boss”  
  


Reaching to wash his hair Tony flinched slightly as a sore muscle decided to twitch and pull at the sensitive area around the reactor.  
  


“Ouch...”  
  


Moments later hands were on his shoulder and back, gently convincing the offending muscle to stop cramping.  
  


“Thanks Mr Magic Fingers.”  
 _“Keep still.”_  
  


Tony didn't object as Yasha grabbed the bottle with shampoo and worked up a good lather before nudging him into the water to rinse.  
  


“You are getting faster.”  
“Still getting just as many bruises though...”  
“You may be smaller and built for speed and agility rather than strength, but as long as you remain a baseline human you won't be faster than me.”  
“And you are a cruel teacher.”  
 _“But effective.”_  
“Shush... Meanie...”  
  


The exchange was familiar and soon both of them stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in comfortable sweats, and made their way toward the kitchen area.  
  


“Your smoothies are done.”  
“Thanks baby girl.”  
“Thank you Fri.”  
  


Sitting at the kitchen island they brought up the files with everything regarding the proposed task-force, carefully going through what parts they wanted amended or altered, and double checking the fake identities they would be providing, making full use of the anonymity clauses in the Accords.  
  


“Have you decided on a name to use?”  
“Well, you're calling your black armor _Wraith_ , and I used to be a ghost story, so _Ghost_ feels suitable.”  
“Ghost and Wraith huh? It does make for a nice nightmare team.”  
“I like it.”  
“Thank you Fri.”  
“Do I need a new name as well for the task-force?”  
  


Friday's question made Tony pause, he hadn't really considered Friday's part in their missions.  
  


“Not necessarily as we can play it off as me loaning you to the task-force the same way we are claiming that Wraith is just a soldier with one of my armours.”  
“Okay...”  
“Fri, do you **want** a codename for the task-force?”  
“Please...”  
“You have one in mind?”  
“If you are Wraith and Ghost, could I be _Eidolon_?”  
“A phantom image with the appearance of a human, sometimes described as being demigods or otherworldly beings of great power, good choice Fri.”  
“Thank you Yasha.”  
“Aww, my baby girl all grown up with a secret identity of her own.”  
  


Tony was all but gushing and playing up the teasing humour, but Yasha could see the sheen of tears in his eyes.  
  


“About time the Stark family has an adult member again.”  
  


Yasha's deadpan quip made Tony gape at him in mock affront and slap his arm, only to start shaking his hand and complain about super soldiers being built like bricks.  
  


“He does have a point Boss.”  
“The sass on the two of you...”  
  


Tony basked in the warm, happy, feeling that their little banter session brought on, it felt like family in a way it never had with the Rogues, their banter had always come with barbs, and they didn't always even bother hiding them.  
Feeling Yasha brush his hand along his shoulders as he walked past to place his glass in the dishwasher only strengthened that feeling of belonging.  
  


“I can hear you thinking, what are you stuck on this time?”  
  


The metal of Yasha's hand felt cool against his neck and it brought Tony out of his thoughts for a moment.  
  


“Just memories.”  
“Anything you need to talk about?”  
“Nothing we haven't already gone over in our sessions.”  
  


Tony reached up and placed his own hand over the one on his shoulder, a gesture of gratitude for the offered support.  
  


“Alright, but that doesn't mean we can talk about it more if needed.”  
“I know.”  
  


There was a slight squeeze at his shoulder, then Yasha let go and returned to his seat across the kitchen island.  
  


“Fri, could you bring up everything they have proposed for the task-force and highlight any changes from the previous version please?”  
“On it Boss.”  
  


The air above the kitchen island quickly came to life with a series of documents, and a few highlighted passages.  
  


“Most of the changes are just alternative wordings, but I'm not fluent in legalese so you may want to have an extra look at those Boss.”  
“I will, anything new or any major changes?”  
“There is a new passage about implementing multiple teams on the task-force.”  
  


Yasha as always read through the text with a cold detachment before speaking up, offering his views in a calm, even, voice.  
  


“Not an unexpected turn of events.”  
“As long as they don't try to mess with our team in any way I don't care.”  
  


Tony tries to sound flippant, but he is reading the passage of text over and over, looking for any formulations that could cause them problems.  
  


“Chances are they plan on bringing the Rogues in on this.”  
  


Friday calmly states what Tony already knows is the most likely reason for the clause to have been added the way it was.  
  


“I agree with Fri, and there is a very real risk that they will want to put Iron Man on that team.”  
“Well they can't have me, I already have a team. A proper team. I would resign from the Accords before allowing them to put me on a team under Rogers.”  
  


Tony hadn't even realized he had started to spiral before Yasha stood and moved behind him, cybernetic arm wrapping around him to keep him from slouching while the other hand started sifting through his hair.  
  


“Breathe котенок.”  
  


Tony focused on the voice and the touch, and soon he could feel himself settling down again and he couldn't help feeling a twinge of loss as Yasha removed the hand that had been splayed across the arc reactor.  
For a moment he was confused, and frankly, a bit scared, when the hell had he grown so comfortable with someone touching the reactor, and even worse, when had he started equating the feeling of metal fingers spread across it with safety?  
  


“Feeling better?”  
“A bit. Let's just get this mess sorted for tomorrow then head out and get some food.”  
“Sounds like a plan.”  
  


When Yasha grabbed the stool next to Tony instead of returning to his usual seat Tony just hummed and scooted over to make room, they still sat close enough that he could feel the heat radiating from Yasha's body, allowing it to keep him grounded while they worked on the document.  
Whenever he feels the panic start to creep closer, Yasha's hand is there, soft, warm, and unyielding against his back, pulling him back, focusing him.  
  


By the time they were satisfied with the work on the Accords document Friday had already made them a light lunch, and was now asking where they would like to eat dinner.  
  


“I feel like fish.”  
“That super soldier body of yours running low on Omega 3 and Vitamin D again?”  
“Probably.”  
“Fish it then, Fri, find us a nice place please.”  
“Of course Boss.”  
  


It had taken a bit of work, but one of the first things Yasha had really learned to have desires and opinions about was food, and for the most part Tony would let him pick the menu as he seemed to instinctively know what food his enhanced body needed to stay in optimal health.  
  


There had been some quite interesting meals in the beginning, like the time Yasha had made short work of 3 whole roast chickens, then completed the meal by polishing off an entire 10 slice cake which apparently was an acceptable source for basic carbohydrates and fat.  
Between Friday's tutelage on what was considered a normal meal, and Tony's promise to deliver whatever foods Yasha wanted he gradually developed more normal habits, if you ignored the part where he could easily eat enough food for 5 grown men.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· The Power of Words·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“I know I should sleep but I just can't relax...”  
  


Tony tried, he really did, but even Yasha's calm support didn't help.  
  


“Maybe have a look at some juice targets to hit if this meeting goes our way?”  
  


He considered Yasha's suggestion then rolled out of bed and put some clothes on.  
  


“Works for me.”  
  


Once in their little mission room Tony asked Friday to bring up the targets outside of the US.  
  


“I think we should start by looking for targets that may have information on those blasted triggers of yours.”  
“Risky...”  
“I know, but we can run into someone who knows them at pretty much any base, and if we get our hands on some solid information it could help find a way to deactivate them. Or at least figure out if it's even possible using something like BARF.”  
“There is still the possibility that a mutant or magic user could do it. With more and more enhanced signing up with the Accords it could be a possibility.”  
  


The mention of magic makes Tony shudder and glare at Yasha.  
  


“I hate magic...”  
“You and me both. I still see that red in my nightmares...”  
“Me too...”  
“Doesn't mean we should rule out the possibility.”  
“I know.”  
  


Tony could feel the tension radiating from Yasha as he sifted through his memories from HYDRA, selecting bases with a high probability of having information about the process used to force the Winter Soldier to obey.  
  


“I won't give up until I've found some way to prevent HYDRA from controlling you.”  
“If they get control, will you kill me?”  
“I refuse to let it come to that.”  
“Will. You. Kill. Me?!”  
“...”  
  


Tony wasn't so sure he would be able to pull the trigger even if HYDRA regained control of their Asset, not any more, so he simply looked away and brought up the information they had on the next base on the list, which was pretty much just the coordinates.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· The Power of Words·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Is that it?”  
  


The meeting with the Accords council in charge of the task-force left the Asset confused, there had been far too much bickering and half answers, he was used to precise, concise, reports and orders.  
The moment they were safely in the privacy of Tony's car he sought confirmation on the outcome of the meeting.  
  


“Yeah, that's it. The HYDRA task-force has been approved, and Unit 1, code name _Team Phantom_ , has been approved for duty. We can start kicking HYDRA ass for real now.”  
  


The grin that spread across Yasha's face was predatory, dark, and it spoke of death and a primal delight that sent a shiver down Tony's spine before his own face twisted to mirror the expression.  
  


“ _Time for HYDRA to fall.”_  
  


Yasha's voice was low and the words, spoken in Russian, held an edge of steel and ice, a quick glance revealed eyes that were burning with a cold blue.  
  


“I will burn anything and anyone who thinks they can threaten or hurt what is mine.”  
  


Tony returned the promise with one of his own.  
  


“About time, you two have been pacing like caged tigers for weeks now.”  
  


Friday's rather annoyed quip left the pair laughing, and agreeing that they had been pretty tense for a while with no good targets left in the US to hit.  
  


They had also found that Yasha didn't deal too well with prolonged tense anticipation as he had reverted more and more toward the sharp chill that had been dominant when he first arrived at the tower.  
He spoke a lot less, and when he did speak it was short and sharp, and more Russian than English, but he still handled Tony's panic with ease, he still touched without hesitation, and he still joined Tony on the bed at night, even if he slept a lot less again.  
  


Tony had been a bit concerned at first, but he quickly found that he didn't mind this colder version of Yasha, the comfortable trust was still there and in some ways Yasha seemed more comfortable, more at ease.  
He didn't mind the silence any more because there was trust and companionship, he didn't feel the urge to prove himself, to gain approval, despite his silence Yasha never doubted him.  
He offered ideas and suggestions and he asked questions, and he would disagree, but he never questioned Tony's intentions, never doubted him.  
  


There was also that not so small part of him that was all hot and bothered by the cold confidence and edge of danger that was practically oozing from the super assassin.  
Tony made damned sure to shut that part of himself up the moment it tried to surface, he was so not going down that road.  
  


Once back at the tower they headed straight to the mission room and confirmed that there had been no noticeable changes at the target location, they had no doubt that HYDRA was already aware that the task-force had been approved with a 3 man team working with Tony.  
  


“Fri, how is the new drone feeling?”  
  


Tony had been pouring his heart into his latest project, drawing on all of his engineering skill, design ideas for Yasha's arm, aspects of the EXO-7 Falcon wings as well as his own suits he had created a drone for Friday to use on their mission.  
Personally he thought the cross between a bird and a wyvern looked pretty damn badass.  
  


“Really good. Can I have it in matching colours?”  
“Of course baby. That one was only intended as a prototype to make sure everything works as intended.”  
  


Screens instantly came to life showing the robotic creature and moments later the silvery gray was replaced by the Wraith colour scheme then a fairly long pause before Yasha's snowflake appeared the wings.  
  


“Wicked taste there baby girl.”  
“...”  
  


Yasha's silence as he looked at the projection dragged out, then the projection changed, the marks vanishing from the wings.  
  


“Sorry Yasha, I shouldn't have assumed...”  
“Fri, no, don't. Leave them... Please...”  
  


Her apologetic words startled Yasha from his silence and he quickly reassured her he didn't mind her wearing what had essentially become his mark, quite the contrary, he was happy she wanted to.  
Seeing the way Yasha reacted to Friday wanting the snowflake design on her new drone made Tony even more determined to solve the new arc reactor design, if only to see how he would react to seeing it.  
  


Yasha was feeling overwhelmed, and the urge to slip deeper into the emotionless aspect of the soldier mindset was very tempting, especially since neither Tony nor Friday seemed to be bothered by the fact that he had been dropping the masks created from the fragmented memories lately.  
The Asset wasn't supposed to feel or want, not supposed to have preferences outside of mission related aspects such as favoured gear, and even that was barely tolerated, he had regained memories of a few handlers that did listen to increase chance of mission success.  
The Asset was certainly not supposed to like, or dislike, but he still found himself disliking using the memories of the _Oth..._ of _Bucky_ , to pretend to be a regular person.  
It was tedious, and the fragments kept getting tangled in the conditioning, the compulsions, leaving him confused, and he hated being confused.  
  


The Asset had been restless for a while now, with no missions other than protecting Tony there hadn't been any combat, only training and it left him wanting, and wanting left him confused, letting go of the masks made it easier, less confusion caused by the memories.  
There was fear as well, something the Asset did not know how to deal with, a fear that Tony would reject the Asset without the masks, there were times where some of the voices would whisper darkly about how the world would not accept some HYDRA made tool that only knew how to be a weapon.  
  


“Assembly will be completed in 3 hours Boss.”  
  


Friday's voice once again brought Yasha back to himself and he focused back on the mission details, not that there were many considering how little they knew about the target.  
It was an old missile silo, similar in layout to the location where the other Soldiers had been kept and there was some concern that it may trigger an episode for Tony, but he insisted they needed to go there anyway.  
  


“Hey Terminator. You okay there?”  
“No. But a combat mission will help.”  
“Alright. How about food and rest before we head out then?”  
 _“Complying.”_  
  


Tony knew Yasha was nowhere near as calm as the soft spoken, even words suggested, but hopefully he was right about a good fight helping him settle whatever it was, quite frankly he had been itching for a nice, bloody, fight himself.  
Though, that ever growing part of him he was trying to keep locked away whispered that a good, rough, fuck would fix his own problems, and might just do the tense soldier some good too.  
Nope, no way, Tony was **not** listening to _that_ voice, his dreams were bad enough as it was.  
Tony forced the errant thoughts down again and focused on washing the vegetables for the stir fry that was on the menu for dinner, it was tougher than usual though with Yasha at his side, expertly cutting skirt steaks into fine slices, the man, assassin, had one hell of a way with knives.  
For what must have been the millionth time since meeting Yasha, Tony cursed his competency kink.  
  


“Boss, Yasha, it's time to wake up.”  
  


Friday always increased the light levels a few minutes before speaking up, it was enough to bring Yasha into a lighter sleep and keep him from having a negative reaction when she spoke up, he never showed anything but Friday's sensors had shown her the way his pulse would jump if she woke him too fast.  
As always Yasha instantly started moving while Tony on the other hand appeared dead to the world until Yasha gave him a few not so polite nudges and mentioned that he could smell the coffee brewing.  
Normally she would have breakfast ready by the time the two were done in the bathroom, but the sleep now had only been a few hours before they left for their mission so she only offered coffee and the tea that Yasha favoured.  
  


“Alright, let's tear this place apart.”  
 _“Acknowledged.”_  
“Eidolon, in position.”  
  


The base was small, only a handful of scientists and a small unit of guards, though one of the guards had been an enhanced with fangs, claws, and overall enhanced combat performance, but Friday had quickly found him vulnerable to certain frequencies of sound, and had promptly knocked him out cold with a sonic blast.  
The enhanced had managed to do some damage before being taken out though, including damaging Yasha's mask, rendering it useless.  
  


“Well well, what do we have here, a lost Asset returning home.”  
  


The voice over the PA system spoke English with a slight German accent and it instantly had Tony and Yasha on high alert, and Friday immediately started tracking the transmission location, and diverted some of her computing power to Yasha's earpieces, ready to act at the slightest hint of Russian being spoken.  
  


“Stand down _Soldat_. Report for immediate recalibration and I will see to it that your punishment is lenient.”  
 _“You are not this Asset's handler. The Asset will not comply.”_  
“Oh you will comply, one way or another. HYDRA will recover it's Asset.”  
  


The edge of insanity in the voice made Tony shudder and redouble his efforts to locate the man speaking.  
  


“Wraith, I have located the room, bringing it up now.”  
  


Friday's voice on the com was accompanied by a flicker of light on the suit's HUD giving Tony directions to the broadcast location.  
  


“Get me access to that system.”  
“Right away.”  
  


A moment later an icon flashed briefly on the HUD telling Tony he was connected to the PA system.  
  


“Sorry Fritz, but the Asset is mine now and I have no intentions of allowing HYDRA to mess with my stuff.”  
  


The man, an upper level handler, hadn't even put up a fight, instead choosing to kill himself before Tony could enter the radio room.  
  


“Eidolon, any more life signs?”  
“Negative. But I do detect some strange readings in the bottom level.”  
“What kind of readings?”  
“Traces of Tesseract energy.”  
“Fuck!”  
  


Tony didn't know if he should be relieved or horrified when the source of the reading turned out to be a Chitauri corpse, or well, the head and spine from one.  
Tony quickly flipped through the notes but most of the stuff was biology and neurology, not his best areas, he did understand enough to get a pretty good idea what they were working on though.  
He was about halfway through the second pile of notes when Yasha's familiar form blocked the doorway for a moment.  
  


“It looks like HYDRA is attempting to find a way to implement a Chitauri hive mind into their assets...”  
“Total control without the need for recalibration or control words.”  
“Yeah, doesn't look like they have gotten very far though, compatibility issues. From what I can glean from these notes exposure to the Chitauri tissue kills the human host tissue.”  
“Good.”  
“Yeah.”  
  


They quickly collected all the files before setting explosives to take out as much of the small base as possible.  
  


“Will these be enough to destroy the alien biological sample?”  
  


Yasha held out a small crate containing incendiary grenades.  
  


“Perfect, I'll add in some stuff from the wet-lab upstairs and it will definitely do the trick. Most of the Chitauri power is in their cybernetics anyway, and the chemicals they dose their soldiers with.”  
  


The additional explosives were quickly set in the small bio-lab to make sure that the Chitauri sample was properly destroyed, Tony had toyed with the idea of bringing it with them, but in the end decided it was just too damned dangerous to have around.  
  


“That's the last of it, let's blow this joint.”  
  


Most of the files in the lab had been hardcopies so it had taken them a while to get everything loaded on the Quinjet, fortunately they had decided to take the larger one that Tony had been working on now that they didn't need to worry as much about being spotted.  
  


“Are you injured?”  
  


Yasha quickly picked up on Tony's obvious discomfort as he squirmed and shifted in his seat.  
  


“What? No.”  
“You look like you're in pain.”  
“I'm not, I'm fine.”  
  


The Asset could tell Tony was not being truthful and mission parameters dictated that he see to his handler's well being so without another word he initiated a basic examination.  
  


“Whoa! Easy with the goods Terminator.”  
“The Asset must ascertain that the handler is not injured.”  
“I told you I'm fine.”  
“You are not.”  
“I'm not injured.”  
  


The truth of the words left the asset confused again.  
  


“Not injured, but not fine...”  
“Fine, not fine... Just a lot on my mind.”  
  


For a moment Tony couldn't help thinking that Yasha looked damned cute when he was confused, there was even a slight tilt to his head that despite being barely noticeable was a stark contrast to his usual perfect posture.  
Tony tried to put a finger on why he felt so restless and off balance, maybe he had been exposed to something in one of the labs, but Friday was usually on top of things like that.  
Clarity came to him with a shock as Yasha put his hands on his shoulders and started kneading the tension from his shoulders.  
  


Some subconscious part of Tony's mind hadn't registered that the mission, the fight, was over.  
Somehow he had gotten so used to Yasha's harsh kisses as the enhanced assassin came down from his battle high that he had begun to see it as a signal that it was over, that they were safe.  
  


“ _We are safe now.”_  
  


With Yasha's soft words the tension bled from Tony's body and slumped back in his seat, letting his head fall back against the solid heat behind him.  
  


“Safe...”  
  


Without thinking Tony reached up and covered the large, strong, hands on his shoulders with his own, not wanting the contact to break.  
  


The Asset watched as Tony leaned back against him, amazed at how the man calmed and closed his eyes in easy trust and he almost startled when calloused hands came down on top of his own, handlers usually frowned on any kind of physical contact outside of punishment or repairs.  
Especially the cybernetic arm was avoided, many handlers would make him wear a harness that restrained it when not actively engaged in a mission, the Asset remembered the heavy leather and metal contraption that wrapped around his arm, and neck.  
  


It took a lot longer than it should for Tony to realize that the touch was having certain effects on a certain part of his anatomy, the moment he did though he was cursing silently as he tried to will the erection down.  
He could feel a slight heat rising in his face as there was no fucking way the ever observant super soldier hadn't already noticed the added bulge in his rather tight undersuit, at least Yasha didn't say anything or otherwise bring attention to it, thank god for small mercies.  
  


Tony almost whined at the loss of the touch when Yasha moved away to the back of the Quinjet and started rummaging around in the crate of special MRE's that were always kept there.  
  


“Eat.”  
  


As always Yasha handed Tony the coffee and dessert along with the snacks from the pack before settling down to eat the actual meal himself, and as always he got up and grabbed a second one once he was done, once again handing Tony the coffee.  
  


“Maybe we should just start packing picnic baskets when we head out, at least now that we have plenty of room.”  
 _“Would taste better at least.”_  
“Yeah, instant coffee, not my cup of tea.”  
  


When Yasha answered by handing him the packets of tea from the MRE Tony broke down laughing and by the time he managed to catch his breath he was feeling calm again.  
  


“Thanks Snowflake. I needed that. And just FYI, tea, definitely not my cup of tea.”  
  


Yasha rarely laughed, but when he did the sound of it did all kinds of things to Tony, it didn't matter if it was a light, amused sound like the one spilling from him now, or the dark, dangerous sound that would sometimes spill forth after taking out HYDRA trash.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· The Power of Words·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Getting called in for a regular villain clean up, or well as regular as it can be when dealing with an enhanced who can turn regular trees into something out of Tolkien, by the Accords felt strange and Tony found himself missing the sleek and stealthy Wraith suit, but more than anything he missed having Yasha at his side, they had grown into a damned good team.  
  


Returning to the tower made it quite clear that Yasha hadn't liked it any more as the moment Tony stepped out of the suit he found himself the victim of a meticulous check for any kind of injury before being pulled into a tight hug.  
Pulling back slightly Yasha placed his cybernetic hand across the arc reactor, gently brushing metal fingers against the casing and Tony knew he was checking to make sure the hum of the reactor was at its normal frequency.  
  


“ _Safe..?”_  
“Yeah, I'm safe.”  
  


Moments later Yasha was kissing him, harsh and brief, then he found himself pulled back into a tight hug and Yasha slumped slightly against him.  
  


“ _Safe...”_  
  


Tony waited for a few minutes, enjoying the warmth, before carefully trying to extract himself from Yasha's hold.  
  


“How about we head out for a nice dinner to celebrate kicking villain ass?”  
 _“No. You will rest, and I will cook.”_  
“Alright alright. Getting bossy there Elsa.”  
  


The way Yasha tensed made Tony regret his choice of words, and he quickly set out to assure him he didn't mind, that he wasn't upset, to be honest, Tony quite enjoyed Yasha's bossy mother hen mode, it made him feel accepted, valued, but that was something he kept to himself.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· The Power of Words·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


When they finally find information relevant to how HYDRA implanted the trigger words used to control Yasha it's in a rathole in the Dharavi slums of Mumbai.  
  


“ _Is that enough to get rid of the triggers?”_  
  


Yasha sounded so hopeful it made Tony's heart ache, and he found himself hoping with everything he was that they had finally found the key.  
There was so much left for Yasha to work through in order to heal, but the could only do so much while the triggers were still in there, not just for the risk of activating them, but they were deeply ingrained in Yasha's mind, and pulling at the wrong memory, especially with BARF could cause massive damage.  
  


Yasha was speaking more Russian than English these days and when Tony asked him about it he had answered that it made it easier to keep himself separate from the fragments of Bucky, made it easier to remember who he, Yasha, was.  
  


“Hopefully. If nothing else it will tell us where to start.”  
 _“Finally!”  
_

Tony wasn't the least bit surprised when Yasha removed his muzzle before grabbing him and pushing him against the nearest wall, instead he retracted the faceplate and returned the searing kiss with equal fervour.  
Tony couldn't put words on it, didn't know how to describe what had been developing between them, ever since that first Phantom mission together in Siberia something had changed.  
It had only taken 3 more fights for Yasha to figure out why Tony had been having such problems calming down and since then he never hesitated to use kisses to calm or distract, and Tony really didn't mind, he just didn't know how to define them.  
  


Tony was definitely feeling a lot of sexual tension, there was no denying that Yasha was fucking gorgeous, and if the impressive bulge he could feel during some of those kisses when Yasha was not in his tac-gear was any indication he wasn't alone in that, but somehow these post mission kisses weren't sexual.  
It wasn't anything like love either, at least not as far as Tony was concerned, there was a lot of emotions, caring, trusting, a deep rooted longing and want, but it wasn't romantic in any way, it was something more primal.  
It... It just was.  
  


“Let's head home, see if we can figure this out.”  
 _“Complying.”_  
  


Sometimes Tony envied the way Yasha could slip into the absolute certainty of the compliant state, he had developed a certain understanding for why some found the submissive role in D&S to be so alluring.  
Part of him wondered if Yasha would miss it if they were able to fully remove the conditioning and triggers.  
  


“Here try this.”  
  


Tony handed Yasha a small paper plate with Pav Bhaji.  
It had caused quite a bit of chaos when Tony had decided to put the Quinjet in a holding pattern and drop down for some authentic Indian street food, but the look on Yasha's face when he bit into the bread and buttery curry made it well worth it.  
Tony couldn't help smiling at the way Yasha was devouring the various dishes, flushed and sweating from the hot spices.  
  


“Guess you have a thing for spicy food, huh?”  
 _“Makes me feel warm...”_  
“Yeah, it definitely does.”  
  


Tony had learned early on that Yasha abhorred the cold, which was quite understandable with his experiences from WWII and with HYDRA.  
Tony had been horrified to learn that Yasha's enhanced physiology had allowed him to remain conscious and fully aware through the initial freezing of the cryo process, mind still awake long after the body lost the ability to move.  
Yasha loved the small sauna in the _lair_ though and would happily spend hours at the medium or low settings, temperatures between 40-60°C, Tony would try to spend some of the time with him , sitting down at the floor where it was cooler, but with his memories and experiences in the desert and with extremis he had issues with heat instead.  
Tony had thought that temperatures like those would make the cybernetic arm uncomfortably hot, but Yasha didn't seem to mind at all.

“ _Shit!”_

Seeing Yasha's eyes start to water as he gasped for air from the heat after taking a big bite of the extra hot Misal Pav had Tony laughing and offer him a small cup with Raita to soothe the heat.  
It wasn't even 2 minutes later that Yasha made short work of the rest of the Misal Pav, grinning like a madman at the burn.

“I have created a monster...”

Tony quickly regretted saying anything as he found himself the focus of Yasha's attention as the enhanced assassin quickly closed the few steps between them and leaned in to kiss him.

“Aw hell no! I don't have super soldier fireproof mouth!”  
“Too bad...”

Yasha hummed teasingly before brushing his lips against Tony's, barely a touch, but still plenty enough to leave his lips stinging from the spicy heat for quite a while.

“You're a menace...”

Tony grumbled, but he was smiling all the same at seeing Yasha behave in a rather whimsical way, it was rare to see him anything but serious.

.·:*¨¨*:· The Power of Words·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“I'm sorry...”

Studying the information about the method HYDRA had used to create the triggers confirmed their worst fears, there was no way to remove them without doing irreparable damage to Yasha's mind, at least not using BARF or any other method available that didn't rely on magic or enhanced abilities..

“ _The Asset should be terminated.”_

Yasha took one of his guns and held it out to Tony.

“ _The Asset is not permitted to self terminate. But I can refrain from resisting if my handler decides to terminate.”  
_

Tony took the gun with a horrified look and quickly set it aside.

“No, I refuse to give up just 'cause we had some bad news.”  
“...”  
“You chose to become mine, and I protect those who are mine. As long as you don't betray me I won't give up on you.”  
 _“I'm too dangerous...”_  
“I'm not giving up.”

Tony refused to give up, and after spending weeks consulting various experts in psychology, neurology, neurochemistry and various aspects of mind manipulations Tony found a sliver of hope, in the form of a young enhanced woman with some pretty impressive mental abilities.  
Even more impressive than her enhanced abilities was her understanding of the human mind, how to break it, how to heal it, and how to improve the BARF system to be able to help them.  
It wouldn't remove the triggers, but it gave them hope of neutralizing the effect of them.

“The triggers can't be removed, but there is a possibility that we can recode them.”  
“How?”  
“The current sequence triggers a state of total compliance. According to this enhanced chick we should be able to use BARF to change the effect of the trigger, making you do something else when those words are used. The compliance trigger would still be there, but she claims that it would be possible to add additional words to the trigger sequence.”  
 _“Making it highly improbable that HYDRA could trigger it...”_  
“Near impossible. From what I understand of what she explained we can lock it so that the additional words would only work if I'm the one saying them.”  
“...”  
“I'm not gonna sugar coat it, it's gonna be tough as hell, you're going to have to relive every step of the conditioning through BARF.”  
 _“But it would render the triggers harmless?”_  
“If it works, yeah.”  
 _“Then we do it.”_  
“Alright, let's get her on the horn and start drawing up plans.”

The young enhanced, who called herself _Sei_ , was more than happy to help them find a way around the triggers and much to Tony and Yasha's relief she was sympathetic to their trust issues and didn't mind working with this them over a simple audiolink.

“Will you stay with me?”

Speaking English for once Yasha's voice sounded frail and Tony wished he could suffer what was coming in his stead.

“I still need to monitor the BARF, but it's up to you if you want me to see what you see in the memories.”  
 _“I think you should see. Not sure if I'll be able to talk about...”  
_ “Alright, I'll watch it together with you then.”  
 _“And keep a suit here. She said there is a risk that we will activate the triggers, and there may be fail-safes we don't know about.”_  
“Don't worry Tastee Freez. Fri is keeping two suits on standby and enough tranqs to put the Hulk down ten times over.”  
“I will make sure you don't hurt Boss, or yourself.”  
 _“Thanks Fri.”_  
“You are family Yasha and I will stop at nothing to protect Boss and his family.”

Tony was beaming with pride as he helped Yasha get comfortable in the soft recliner chair, picked specifically to not remind Yasha of the metal monstrosities HYDRA has strapped him into for the wipes and maintenance.

“Ready?”  
“Ready.”

Tony couldn't help cupping Yasha's face for a moment as he did a last check on the BARF glasses.

“You can do this, you are stronger than anyone I have ever met.”  
“I'll handle anything it takes to get HYDRA out of my head.”  
“I know you will.”

It would be the first time they actively sought out memories from after James Buchanan Barnes' fall from the train, memories of Yasha's time as the Asset, the Fist of HYDRA, the Winter Soldier.  
All their previous sessions had been focused at integrating the memories of Bucky, and the memories from the time with HYDRA that Yasha recalled on his own.  
Now they would be digging into new memories, memories of the nightmarish conditioning and torture that had created the Winter Soldier in the first place.

Not even 2 minutes into the session Tony found himself emptying the contents of his stomach into the trash can by the door, and he quietly asked Friday to have a box of emesis bags brought from the medical wing.  
The images showed memories of the first arm being attached, including memories of them cutting away what remained of Yasha's flesh arm, for him to remember that he must have been awake for parts of it.  
Mixed in with the memories of the surgery was memories of Arnim Zola speaking softly to him, the first stages of the conditioning.

It took less than 5 minutes before Yasha tore the glasses off with a strangled cry and scanned the room with wild eyes, and the moment he laid eyes on Tony he scrambled from the chair and threw himself at him.

“Ssh, it's okay, you're safe.”  
 _“Safe..?”_  
“Safe.”

Tony just held Yasha while he slowly came back to himself, it was familiar from the previous sessions even if none of them had been this intense.  
Once Yasha calms down a bit his eyes shift to the trash can, no doubt picking up on the smell of the contents.

“I'm sorry...”  
“Don't worry about it. I'll manage. Friday has some puke bags on the way up.”

Tony carefully nudges Yasha to move back to his chair, and put the glasses back on, unfortunately there was little room for rest, to be able to reprogram the triggers they would have to keep pushing to the breaking point, memory after memory.

“I'm sorry, it's the only way.”  
 _“Complying.”_

The process of unlocking the triggers so they could be manipulated was pure torture and by the time they are ready to proceed Tony was dead on his feet and Yasha looked more like a hunted animal than a man, but as far as Tony could tell they had made it.

“ _Longing, Rusted, Seventeen, Daybreak, Furnace, Nine, Benign, Homecoming, One, Freight car...”_

Tony recites the words with a voice that is far more steady than he thought he would be capable of.  
It was the moment of truth, Yasha's response would tell them if they had succeeded or not, if he responded with anything other than _Ready to comply_ , they would know they had succeeded.

“ _Priority objective override: Protect Tony Stark.”_

The reply threw Tony off for a moment, he hadn't known what Yasha had picked as the new condition triggered by the words, but it was fitting as Tony leaned in to give Yasha the added phrase that would act as an extra lock to prevent anyone from triggering the compliant state.

“I trust you.”

The reaction is instant as Yasha rises to his feet and slips into parade rest and Tony's pulse picks up, this is the moment of truth, will Yasha come back to who he has grown into after being triggered.

“ _Ready to comply.”_  
“Confirm active mission parameters.”

Yasha calmly lists his current missions, choosing Tony as his handler to take down HYDRA, the additional parameters about taking care of his own needs that Tony had implemented during those first weeks in the tower, and the mission to protect Tony.

“It worked...”

The relief was tangible in Yasha's voice, then moments later Tony was enveloped in a near crushing hug.

“ _It worked!”_  
“It worked, you're safe now.”  
 _“Never again a weapon for HYDRA. I am yours now.”_  
“Mine for as long as you chose to be.”

Tony agreed with a hint of darkness, of possessiveness, in his voice, as long as Yasha chose to stay with him he wouldn't let anyone take him away.  
He can't help frowning when Yasha pulls back slightly with a somewhat confused and concerned look.

“ _I am still the Asset...”_  
“I know. You are who you are, and I won't ask you to be anything else, that's up to you. The Asset has discretion.”  
 _“Mission parameters accepted.”_

By the time they made it back to their little lair Friday had a light meal waiting for them, though neither really noticed what they were eating, far too exhausted by the 3 days spent constantly running through memories with BARF.  
  


Despite their exhaustion sleep was not forthcoming, the memories unearthed by BARF plaguing them both, when one managed to fall asleep it wouldn't be long before he startled awake from the nightmares, but the other would be there, pulling him closer.  
Soft voices, guiding words, anchoring touches, and metal against metal soothing a shared trauma.  
  


Friday watched over them, ever vigilant, and it was not the first time she wished she had a proper body so she could join them, she wanted nothing more than to soothe her creator, her father, and the broken man she had grown to consider a friend and brother.  
The Eidolon drone and the various bots and mechanical arms she could control allowed her to touch, but not hold the way that would be needed to soothe them.  
With nothing else she could do she sifted through her audio records and started playing the soothing sounds of summer rain and distant thunder.  
  


She watched them closely as they struggled together to recover from the horrors of having to remember what HYDRA had done to create and control Yasha, she watched them grow closer, and she felt hope in seeing the way they protected each other without even noticing themselves.  
Maybe her father had finally found someone worthy to call family, someone who wouldn't betray or abandon, and once again she found herself wishing she was as experienced as her predecessor, that she wasn't so young.  
  


Friday worries and she cares, but she takes solace in trusting that they will manage, they had already explained to her that this would be hard, that it would probably take them weeks to return to a semblance of normal.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· The Power of Words·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“You know, with the triggers out of the picture we could start working on bringing you in from the cold. Reinstate you will full legal residency and all that, no more hiding.”

Yasha turns slowly at the sound of Tony's voice, movements relaxed and if Tony didn't know better he would say sluggish and sleep addled, but he knows Yasha is like a serpent, he may be lazy, like a snake soaking in the heat of the sun, but he was always ready to strike.  
Yasha might be learning how to be a person, but he would never stop being a weapon, and Tony had found that he didn't want him to, that deadly core of power and danger was a fundamental part of Yasha.

“I'm still the world's most wanted assassin.”

Yasha's objection was familiar, he was struggling with seeing himself as anything other than the weapon, HYDRA's Asset, even if HYDRA couldn't control him the way they had any more.

“After my legal and PR teams are done I'll have you welcomed back with a parade and aspeach from the president. The heroic homecoming of James Buchanan Barnes, POW returning home after suffering 70 years of horrendous medical experiments, torture and brainwashing.”  
 _“I have killed and hurt a lot of people. You saw some of the things they made me do.”_  
“I know, but you weren't acting on your own volition.”  
“...”  
“There's plenty of ways to prevent you from being held liable for your actions under HYDRA's control. Extreme duress, diminished capacity, the Nuremberg defence, the simple fact that they used fucking torture and trigger words to turn you into little more than a puppet to get you to do it.”

There was a long silence, then a sigh.

“ _I'm not ready...”_  
“Okay, that's entirely your call. But would it be okay if I start working on a solid defence for you though?”  
 _“Yes.”_

As much as Tony advocated accountability he wanted the true culprit to be the one to suffer the consequences.

“I want a mission.”

The almost glow of Yasha's eyes are telling and for a moment Tony marvels at the new aspect of Yasha that has begun to surface after they took control of the triggers, outspoken, demanding and sometimes downright dominant.  
It's still a bit hit and miss which mood he will be in at any given time, but Tony finds that it just makes life more interesting.

“Sounds like a plan. Anything in particular you wanna hit?”  
“I think so.”

Tony notices that the murder strut is out in full force as they make their way to their little mission central, something definitely has Yasha riled up, probably something from the memories brought up during the BARF session to disarm the triggers.

“ _Here.”_

Yasha points toward Bangladesh.

“ _I remember a recent mission, protect a VIP. He specializes in human trafficking, providing not just HYDRA, but anyone willing to pay with slaves, test subjects and bribes, including underage girls. Dealing with the triggers, I remembered where his base of operations is.”_

When Yasha looked over to Tony he was pale and shivering with fury and disgust.

“ _He knows the words, he used them a lot. I don't remember what he forced me to do, and I don't think I want to remember...”_  
“Whatever it was Yasha, what you really need to remember is that he used the words because it was the only way to make you do it.”

Friday speaks up to help ground Yasha while Yasha helps Tony keep from spiralling too far, they have found a balance and together they are managing.

“So this VIP, he can recite them from memory?”  
 _“Yes.”_  
“Good thing that won't do jack shit to help him any more.”  
“I want to let him use them, let him know fear when they do nothing to stop me.”  
“He's all yours then.”  
“Oh, I don't mind sharing. I have a feeling you know a thing or two about pain and fear.”

Getting into the new target location was easy, the traffickers were cowards, used to handling weak and broken people, who were unable to fight back.  
Less than an hour after making contact they had the ringleader trapped in a hidden bunker and Yasha slowly walked closer while removing his muzzle and goggles.

“Time for you to face retribution.”

The moment he saw Yasha's face he began rattling off the trigger words.

“ _Freight car!”  
_

Their target relaxed as the final word left his lips before Yasha reached him, assured of his own safety, never even noticing that Yasha never replied with the expected _Ready to comply_ .  
Yasha never spoke the new phrase either though, part of the compulsion he had created for himself to protect Tony kept him from saying anything that would reveal Tony's involvement.

“Asset, protect me! Kill that bastard! ”  
 _“The Asset will not comply.”_  
“What the fuck?!”

Before their target could say anything else there was the familiar whine of a repulsor, then a flash of light knocking the man on his ass, strong enough to daze him, but not enough to do any significant damage.

“Eidolon, are we dark?”  
“Full blackout confirmed. No one will disturb us.”

Tony and Yasha both threw a glance at Friday's drone at the use of _Us_ , it would seem she wanted a piece of the bastard squirming at their feet as well.  
Both nearly jumped when Friday aimed her own small weapons at the computer bank by the wall and fired.

“Boss, may I have permission to purge my memory banks?”

Friday's voice came through low in his earpiec, it sounded weak, almost brokene and Tony was glad he had his faceplate down as he could feel himself pale as he realized what kind of information, what kind of sick _material_ was probably stored on that computer.

“Of course. Wipe it all out.”

They took their sweet time with the target and they still felt he had gotten off far too easy, but there was no more time, they needed to get out of there.  
For once they didn't burn the facility behind them, leaving the corpses as a warning, the facility was also the only shelter a lot of displaced people had, and it would take a few days to get the Maria Stark Foundation in there to assist.

Once back at the Quinjet Tony quickly set a course for Bangkok, intent on giving Yasha, who was making short work of one of the MRE's, a sample of the hottest Thai food he could find.

“Fri baby, do I need to worry about you going HAL on us?”

Tony had watched as Friday used the Eidolon's power system to deliver electric shocks that had to be excruciatingly painful while coldly reciting the ways the piece of trash had hurt innocents, and Yasha, taking particular offense at how the triggers had been used to force Yasha to hurt innocents.

“Don't worry Boss, I won't seek a target on my own. Only targets already flagged for termination.”  
“Alright, as long as you check with me or Yasha and get target confirmation first.”  
“Will do Boss.”  
“Don't stuff yourself full there Snowflake, we're grabbing some proper Thai on the way back.”  
“Extra spicy?”  
“Of course.”

Tony can't help smiling at the almost childish delight on Yasha's face at the prospect of having proper Thai food, not the watered down, westernised version served in most US restaurants.  
Finding out about Yasha's love for hot food made the strike against the HYDRA cell in Mumbai a triple victory, kill HYDRA scum, finding the answer to the triggers, and finding something Yasha enjoyed.

.·:*¨¨*:· The Power of Words·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Boss, the DC Accords office has requested for Team Phantom to come in for a debriefing and planning meeting, tomorrow.”  
“Of course they have, so much for that trip to New Orleans... Always last fucking second with those bastards.”  
“I'm sorry Boss, I tried to get them to pick another day but they refused to.”

Tony had made plans to take Yasha to New Orleans for a crawfish boil as a bit of a surprise to see how he would like the food there.

“Is our resident murder kitten still toasting away in the sauna?”  
“He is. Do you want me to let him you're looking for him?”  
“Nah, it's okay, let him enjoy steaming himself.”

Yasha was still being very reluctant about not being in the same room as Tony, but it was getting better as long as they both remained on the floor that Tony had jokingly dubbed the lair, which pretty much was home now, he only used the penthouse if Pepper or Rhodes was visiting.

Getting back to the coding he was working on Tony waits for Yasha to finish up and when he does return Tony finds himself enjoying the treat of seeing Yasha walk from the bathroom over to his wardrobe wearing nothing but a flush from the heat and a towel hanging low on his hips.  
He sees him naked pretty much daily as they usually shower at the same time in the gym, but that's different somehow, not as enticing.  
Tony quickly focuses back on the nanite code when the towel is unceremoniously dropped to the floor in front of the wardrobe, he is pretty sure that Yasha's total lack of modesty and inhibitions is going to be the death of him one day.

“Any luck getting those to cooperate?”

Yasha drops down on the couch with a huge bowl of mixed fruit and offers it to Tony while taking a glance at what he's working on.

“I'm getting closer. Trick is is if I restrain them too much they won't work, and if I don't restrain them enough they start behaving a bit like cancer.”  
 _“You will figure it out.”_  
“Hopefully. Meanwhile, we got some hoops to jump through. Council wants us in DC tomorrow to debrief.”  
 _”Annoying...”_

Tony can't help bark out a laugh at the way Yasha rolls his eyes and manages to sound utterly bored, and like the task would be the ultimate bother, it reminds him of himself when dealing with narrow-minded people in many ways.

“Yeah, got that right...”

The way Tony was grumbling under his breath told Yasha that there was more to it than just annoyance at having to deal with the accords council.

“Is something wrong?”  
“Not really, I had just made plans for a little trip, take a few days to relax, explore and try some new food.”

Yasha can feel himself slipping, the anger is familiar, but the disappointment is not, it's not something he knows how to deal with, and even the anger as familiar as it is feels different, he has no target to aim it at, at least not a target he can actually go after without risking everything they have worked for.

“You okay there Snowflake?”  
 _“No.”_  
“Want to tell me about it?”  
 _“The Asset does not know what to do.”_  
“About what?”  
“I feel...”

The Asset can't help hesitating to deliver his report, previous handlers have always considered emotion a malfunction, a reason for punishment and recalibration, pain, and wipes.  
He knows of course that Tony is not like the previous handlers, but the hesitation is still there, Tony had explained it, that an abuse victim will avoid situations that have previously led to abuse, even if the abuser is gone.

“It's okay, take your time, and remember, no punishments for feeling.”  
 _“I'm confused...”_  
“You're learning how to deal with the emotions that HYDRA stole from you, of course you're gonna be confused from time to time.”  
“...”

When Yasha falls silent Tony decides to try to give him another nudge about hiring a proper expert to help deal with everything, he doesn't have high hopes though, Yasha is even more paranoid than he is himself.

“You want me to look into some professional help to get through this?”  
 _“No. It's not safe. You and Fri are safe.”_  
“Okay, but neither of us are actually trained for this kind of stuff.”  
 _“BARF helps, we will manage.”_  
“Yeah, I guess you're right about that. Might not be the best way, but we'll manage.”

The Asset settled back to find the appropriate words for what he was experiencing, and while he did Tony brought out the maintenance kit for the arm.  
The new arm barely required any maintenance, but they kept with the once a week cleaning and inspection schedule anyway and the Asset found the routine to be comforting, and the way Tony would babble about anything and everything while working gave a very good look into his mental state.  
This time Tony didn't speak though, instead he just hummed to himself, waiting for the Asset to put together his report.

Tony was closing up the last of the access panels when Yasha finally spoke up, the somewhat stiff Russian telling him he was deep into the compliant mindset that he fled to when overwhelmed.  
He tried as best as he could to stay calm while Yasha spoke, outlining his confusion and conflicting feelings, his frustration at feeling anger and aggression while not having a hostile target associated with the feelings.

“Yeah, that big ol' mess of conflicting emotions kinda comes with being human.”  
 _“It's distracting.”_  
“Mhm. It can really mess you up sometimes. But if focused, it can make you stronger, push you beyond the limits.”  
 _“I don't like it. It's an unreliable variable.”  
_ “Don't worry, you'll learn to handle it. Not to mention you're pretty damned amazing at compartmentalizing your emotions when needed. And remember what I said, you don't have to become all emotional and stuff, it's up to you.”  
 _“The Asset has discretion...”_  
“Yes, the Asset has discretion.”

When Yasha didn't say anything more Tony just plucked another piece of fruit from the bowl before making himself comfortable on the oversized couch, using Yasha's lap as a pillow and soon he was half asleep mind muddled by the soothing touch of metal fingers sifting through his hair.

“I'm hungry, can we try something new today?”

Tony startled slightly when Yasha spoke up, this time without any trace of Russian, or the compliant state.

“Of course. Fri baby, any suggestions for stuff we haven't tried yet?”  
“There is a new Lebanese restaurant that has received a lot of good reviews from Lebanese guests for its authenticity.”  
“What do you say Tastee Freez?”  
“Is it spicy?”

The question had Tony laughing while Friday brought up information on Lebanese cuisine.

“It's not spicy the way the Indian and Thai foods you like so much are, but I think you will enjoy it anyway.”  
“I'm sure I will, I'm not picky.”

Tony was pretty sure Yasha would eat pretty much anything without complaints, they had found some of HYDRA's version of MRE's developed for their Asset and they were pretty horrid.

“Boss, I have uncovered some information about the requested meeting.”

They were finishing up their meal with some kind of extremely sweet semolina cake topped with pecans when Friday tapped into their earpieces.

“What's up baby?”  
“The Rogues will be there.”  
“Fuck!”  
 _“Fuck!”  
_

Tony and Yasha cursed as one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While it took weeks for them to recover from the immediate effects of dealing with the triggers it will take a lot longer to deal with all the horrible memories they had to dredge through.


	7. Rebirth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be mentions of past rape/none-con elements here (nothing graphical, just a brief mention) as well as a car crash resulting in some severe/fatal injuries (but non graphical and the victim recovers).

.·:*¨¨*:· Rebirth·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Boss, looks like the Rogues are waiting for us to land.”  
  


Friday brought the Avengers Quinjet as well as the Rogues up on the targeting screen, painting them all in a fairly dark orange, indicating she saw them as hostile targets, but not currently engaged in active combat.  
  


“Fri baby, stand down to yellow please.”  
“Boss, they have already proven themselves untrustworthy and potentially hostile.”  
“I know sweetheart, but we need to at least pretend to be friendly, you can put them back on orange if they as much as twitch funny.”  
“Alright Boss...”  
“That's my sweet baby girl.”  
  


The way the Eidolon shifted where it was perched on Yasha's shoulder gave a distinct feel of a moping pout.  
  


“You doing okay there Terminator?”  
 _“The Asset is operating within acceptable parameters for the current mission.”_  
“Alright.”  
  


Tony sighed slightly, Yasha was not reacting well to them having to be in the same facility as Rogers and his lackeys, not that Tony blamed him in the least, he would rather be just about anywhere else himself.  
  


“You make sure to let Fri know if it becomes too much and we'll get the fuck out. I don't care what they say.”  
 _“Acknowledged.”_  
“Fri, skip the aerial sweep and just stay on his arm for this.”  
“Of course Boss. Don't worry Yasha, I'll be keeping an eye on both of you.”  
“...”  
  


They had determined that there was a risk that the Rogues would notice that something was different about Yasha's arm, so by carrying the Eidolon on his arm they hoped that any oddities, like sounds, would be written off as being caused by the winged drone.  
Friday would also be controlling the Wraith suit to maintain the illusion that it was piloted by someone other than Tony.  
Though, they all hoped they wouldn't get close enough to the Rogues for it to become an actual issue, but they all agreed that with their luck they would probably end up having the Rogues in their laps for the briefing.  
  


“Tony!”  
  


Tony cringed slightly as Rogers yelled from the ground level of the landing pad, but fortunately the guard seemed to have a decent situational awareness and insisted on checking security clearance before letting the Rogues up to the pad, giving Tony and Yasha time to get inside.  
By the time the Rogues made it inside Tony and Yasha had made their way to the meeting room and settled into one of the small private antechambers connected to the main room.  
  


“Cap, did you see that?”  
“See what?”  
“That new guy had your shield... Different colours, but it has to be it.”  
  


Friday was tapping into the surveillance and showing the conversation between the Rogues to Tony and Yasha.  
  


“Typical fucking Stark.”  
  


Friday made a note in her own files about Barton's irrational hostility, adding an extra flag to find some way to make him pay.  
  


“I thought it was supposed to be Stark and a three man team?”  
“I think Eidolon is that freaky drone Ghost was carrying. The file says Eidolon is just communications and tech support, not a field operative.”  
  


The debate between Wilson and Lang about her status on the team made Friday offer a dry quip that at least Wilson seemed to have a few brain cells to rub together, too bad he forgot about using them the moment Rogers batted his eyelashes...  
  


Friday continued to monitor the conversation as the Rogues bitched and griped about everything from Yasha's gear to the colours on the Wraith, Roger's complaints were centred on his belief that Tony had done something to harm his _Bucky_.  
  


“ _They appear unstable, and the Captain doesn't seem to be doing anything to reign them in.”_  
“Good to have you back Snowflake.”  
“Sorry.”  
“Nah, don't be. I'd rather not be here either. You do what you need to to stay in the game.”  
“Rogers appears to be convinced that Boss has done something to harm _His Bucky._ Yasha, do you have any memories suggesting that Rogers and Bucky were romantically involved?”  
  


Friday sounded confused as there hadn't been anything that she could find in the memories they had addressed using BARF that explained Rogers' possessive protectiveness.  
  


“ _Nothing I can remember. Seemed more like brothers. I have memory fragments of_ Bucky _saving_ Stevie's _ass a lot when he picked impossible fights.”_  
“I actually think it's as simple as Rogers wanting the 40's back. A time he remembers as himself being the one in control. When the serum set him apart more than now, when he had his faithful Bucky at his side. He never seemed very interested in adjusting to the 21st century.”  
  


Tony had spent a lot of time mulling over why Roger's did what he did, but he never could get the pieces to fit together.  
  


“So he views Yasha as his ticket to get his old life back?”  
“I think so Fri. And he clearly has no qualms about walking over corpses to get it.”  
  


A chime from the speaker by the door interrupted the conversation as it alerted them that the Council was ready to see them.  
  


“Alright, game faces...”  
  


Tony stood and took a deep breath before letting the appropriate mask slip into place.  
  


“No, I will smile and play nice in front of the cameras, but I will **not** work with Accords Team Epsilon 4 in any way outside of large scale operations requiring multiple teams. Not as Tony Stark, and not as Iron Man.”  
  


Tony refused to call them the Avengers, instead he insisted on using the Accords team registry designation given to them when they signed up for the HYDRA task-force, Team Epsilon 4.  
As the first, and original team of the task-force Tony's little team was actually registered as Team Phantom.  
  


“And I will never work under Rogers or Epsilon 4, not in any capacity!”  
  


The entire meeting was essentially the Council trying to merge their team with the Rogues as a means to get Tony to once again supply and support them with tech and money.  
Never before had Tone been so glad to have Yasha's deadly presence at his back, all burning flames and jagged edges, a presence that seemed to wrap around him every bit as smoothly as his Iron Man armours.  
  


“Please Mr Stark, try to see reason!”  
“I am being perfectly reasonable. You have no grounds for demanding that I put time and money into supporting the people who betrayed and attacked me.”  
  


Friday was furious and felt utterly helpless as she listened to the Council trying to force her creator to play nice with those who had abused and betrayed him.  
The microscopic movements of Yasha's finger tapping the familiar patterns of morse-code against a sensor on the Eidolon's tail told her he was struggling to stay calm as well.  
She answered with minute movements of one of the claws against an extra sensitive spot hidden at the edge of one of the panels on Yasha's arm, sharing anger and frustration, and dark desires for revenge, desires to bleed those who had harmed, would harm her _father,_ dry.  
  


The Asset, sniper and assassin with no desires, no feelings beyond the mission had taught Friday a lot about the value of waiting for the right time, to patiently wait for days, hidden, unmoving, waiting for that one perfect moment where all factors aligned before taking the shot.  
  


Friday watched with pride as her creator refused to bow or bend, refused to break, no longer allowing others to place the guilt and blame on him, all that remained now was for him to stop doing it himself, but she had hope now.  
  


“No, and that's final. Call my office when you are ready to actually listen.”  
  


Tony turned on his heel, making it perfectly clear that he was done listening to the Council not listening to him, he knew Rogers, Romanoff and Wilson were waiting right outside the conference room, Friday had warned him, but he just couldn't stand staying any longer, he could feel the panic creeping around the edges of his mind..  
  


“Tony we need to talk!”  
  


Tony just ignored Rogers walking toward the opposite exit, and he didn't need Friday's warning to know that Barton and Lang would be waiting for them around the corner before they could reach the exit.  
  


“Would you just drop your ego and see the bigger picture for once in your life.”  
  


Romanoff's refrain was getting really old, but Tony kept walking, he was not about to let them get to him.  
  


“Stop being such a fucking brat Stark!”  
  


As he knew they would, Barton and Lang appeared around the corner when Tony got close, and when they moved to block his way Tony just levelled them with a glare.  
  


“Get out of my way Barton.”  
“I ain't going anywhere until Cap is done talking to your selfish ass!”  
  


Tony almost smiled when Barton made the mistake of taking a threatening step closer, something that Yasha and Friday did not look kindly on, both instantly intervening.  
A split second later Yasha had Barton pinned to the wall by with his right arm against the archer's chest, applying just enough force to make it painful, and Friday had used the Wraith to hold Lang against the opposite wall, hand placed squarely in the middle of his chest, repulsor whining softly in obvious warning, and threat.  
  


Tony just put on his biggest media smile, offered a mock salute and bow, then walked out, Yasha and Friday falling into line once he was safely out of reach, leaving the Rogues calling and cursing behind them.  
The moment the ramp of the Quinjet closed, securing them away from prying eyes, both men crashed, stumbling against each other, seeking confirmation that they were safe.  
  


“Easy Boss, Yasha, you're safe, we're all safe. Focus on breathing, I'll get us out of here.”  
  


Friday watched Yasha rip the mask from his face and lean his forehead against Tony's, sensors telling her that both of them had elevated pulse and respiratory rhythm but between touches and soft whispered assurances that they were safe they were calming down.  
She watches the familiar way Yasha moves Tony to allow him to breathe easier while Tony places one of his hands over the sleek metal of Yasha's left hand, not to move it away from the reactor, but to pull it tighter against it.  
  


While watching over them Friday makes sure there would be plenty of snacks and finger foods waiting for them when they got back to the tower, it would help them relax and recover energy burned by the heightened state of anxiety, especially Yasha tended to be ravenous after an episode.  
Yasha's already rather extreme hypervigilance burned a lot of energy, and having it cranked up to 11 by stress drained his reserves pretty fast even though the serum would let him run on a near empty for a significant amount of time.  
  


A benefit of Yasha's metabolism though was that Tony was actually eating properly as well, his health had been steadily improving in several key areas.  
She still wished he would spend more time looking into ways to repair the damage done by the arc reactor though, his life expectancy was alarmingly low with the poor condition of his lungs and heart, but the way Tony was growing closer to Yasha was giving her hope, maybe he had finally found his reason to live, to risk the changes needed to heal.  
  


When the Quinjet lands at the tower Yasha carries a sleeping Tony to the elevator and Friday makes sure there are no noises to wake him while cancelling the action queue that would take food out of the refrigerator.  
  


“Yasha, there are some suitable snacks waiting for you in the kitchen and I have a nice selection waiting for when Boss wakes up.”  
 _“Thank you Fri.”_  
  


The Asset placed Tony on the couch and made sure he was comfortable before fetching the snacks that Friday had mentioned, as usual there was a nice selection of nuts and seeds, fruits and berries as well as a selection of meat and fish, prepared in various combinations of salted, smoked or dried.  
As always Tony had allowed him to regain control, centred him and helped him calm down, but there was still a part within that burned with a desire to just kill those who caused Tony pain, but he had listened, a greater enemy approaching, one that would require the world to fight united.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Rebirth·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Come on Winter Wonderland.”  
  


Tony tugged at Yasha's arm, trying to get him to follow the dirt road toward a set of large greenhouses and factory buildings sprawled between a few fairly large fields and an orchard.  
His high spirited mood was contagious and Yasha retaliated against the impatience by planting his feet and simply raising his arm, pulling the smaller man closer and almost lifting him off the ground.  
  


“Hey! No using my tech against me!”  
  


Yasha could smell the joy radiating from Tony, along with something that almost smelled like a lie that he had learned was Tony hiding something to surprise him.  
Of course he could also smell the hot peppers on the air, making his nose and throat tickle with heat, revealing that Tony's surprise had something to do with his preference for spicy foods.  
  


“Then slow down котенок.”  
“Starting to feel that centenarian body of yours?”  
 _“Not at all, but you are prone to tripping over air.”_  
“Hey that happened once!”  
 _“A day...”_  
“Meanie...”  
  


Tony couldn't help feeling happy at the way Yasha was developing and healing, he still spoke mostly Russian, but he didn't feel as broken or confused any more, he was being more confident about making choices, and about expressing himself.  
He would still slip into the compliant state from time to time, but it wasn't the same any more, no more expecting punishments or any of those things, it was more of a coping mechanism to allow himself time to sort through his feelings when overwhelmed.  
And to boot he was developing a streak of downright evil humour, the man was a menace.  
  


Yasha had long since stopped questioning how a grown man could be so whimsical and childish, Friday had told him that Tony never really had a childhood worth mentioning, always expected to act mature and _proper_ , always wearing masks so now he would sometimes let that part out when he felt safe and happy.  
With an exaggerated sigh he starts following Tony again, letting himself be dragged toward the large greenhouses to see just what Tony had planned for the day.  
  


Tony was a whirlwind of barely contained energy and Yasha could almost feel him vibrating whenever the guide paused the tour to explain something about the work in the green house where the small company grew the peppers used in their hot sauces.  
Yasha found that it was actually a quite interesting tour as the woman spoke about how various factors affected the heat and flavour of the peppers grown and he could tell that Tony was hanging on every detail, no doubt up to something again.  
He was surprised to find that the spicy fruits came in more colours than just red and yellow, including black, white and purple.  
  


“Okay Snowflake, time to get our hands dirty!”  
  


The rest of the group had already left but apparently Tony had managed to arrange something extra.  
Curiosity was a fairly new feeling for Yasha, but he was pleased to find that it was one that didn't cause too much trouble, at least not mentally, it didn't overwhelm him, the amount of trouble it caused when trying to sate it was a different issue.  
They followed one of the workers into a small side room where coveralls and protective gear had been laid out for them and they were left alone to change, though Tony had Friday do a quick sweep for surveillance gear first.  
  


Yasha knew that Tony was no stranger to working with his body, the way he worked metal without using power tools, the way he would shift engines and heavy equipment around, just looking at his body was enough to tell, you didn't get that kind of definition just from the gym.  
He had read all the things the media wrote about Tony, even in the short time travelling with the Captain he had heard quite a few things as well, calling Tony spoiled, accusing him of never having actually worked for anything in his life.  
No one seemed to credit him for all the work he did, designing most of Stark Industries tech products, the man had a very impressive list of patents, and he had created Iron Man.  
He had taken a weapons manufacturer built on government contracts and turned it into one of the largest, and most successful, cross discipline companies in the world.  
  


“Hey, you okay there Tastee Freez?”  
 _“Just thinking.”_  
“Anything you want to share?”  
“Not now.”  
“Alright.”  
  


Yasha didn't seem tense so Tony saw no reason for further concern, instead he focused on checking to make sure Yasha's electrostatic veil was working as it should before helping him with the long faux skin glove that keept the metal of his hand hidden.  
  


A senior worker explained to them how to spot if the fruits were ripe and before long they were set to work on picking them.  
Yasha found the work of harvesting the small, but insanely hot, peppers to be relaxing, carefully sifting through the plants to find the peppers that looked ripe, squeezing them gently to see if they were fully ripe.  
  


“So, how did you like being a pepper-farmer for a day?”  
  


Tony's somewhat nervous and hopeful energy made Yasha give him an amused smile, soothing those nerves.  
  


“ _It was calming.”_  
“I guess it was, wasn't it...”  
 _“Felt good to work with my hands, not just fight...”_  
“Yeah, feels good to create something.”  
“Food now?”  
“Mhm...”  
  


Their next stop was a steakhouse in the nearby town that specialized in using the various products created at the farm, boasting to serve the hottest ribs and wings in the US.  
  


“ _I want to try that.”_  
  


Tony barked out a laugh as Yasha pointed to a poster that offered a food challenge, anyone who could eat the huge plate of insanely hot food without drinking or throwing up wouldn't have to pay, and would get an ugly trophy and T-shirt, as well as a spot on their Wall of Fame.  
  


“ _You know that's kinda cheating Mister super soldier serum enhanced appetite and resilience...”_  
  


Tony's teasing reply made Yasha grin and order the challenge meal, Tony obviously wasn't upset about the so called cheating considering he has spoken Russian, and barely whispered, trusting Yasha's enhanced hearing to pick it up.  
  


“I'll have that mini slider selection and the Carne asada fries.”  
  


Tony's order rewarded him with a raised eyebrow and the hint of a challenging smile, Yasha clearly didn't think he would be able to finish the order on his own.  
Waiting for their food they had already drawn an audience waiting to see if Yasha would be able to pull off the challenge.  
  


“Alright, timer starts now!”  
  


The server hit a small gong which started a countdown of 1 hour on the timer and Yasha started on his meal, calmly making his way through the various dishes.  
  


“Damn, dude!”  
“You got asbestos lining in that mouth of yours?”  
“He's gotta be part dragon or something.”  
  


The commentary as Yasha made his way through the food, flushed and a slight sheen of sweat, but showing no discomfort from the insanely hot food made Tony smile and tease him a bit.  
  


“Challenge clear!”  
  


Tony wasn't the least bit surprised that Yasha hadn't just cleared the challenge, but set a new time record as well, too bad he wouldn't get on the Wall of Fame with his real face and name.  
They took some time to have a few drinks with the locals before heading back to the Quinjet, neither of them felt safe enough to stay at the small motel at the edge of town.  
  


“I had a lot of fun today, Thank you.”  
“...”  
  


Tony couldn't find any words to answer with, his mind momentarily blanked out when Yasha wrapped his arms around him from behind the co-pilot seat and brushed his lips against his neck.  
Struggling to find his voice Tony pressed the smooth metal of Yasha's hand tighter against the arc reactor, using the now familiar feeling to ground himself.  
  


“That's good...”  
  


Closing his eyes Tony tried to calm down, he had tried to keep some semblance of distance, keep things casual, platonic, but it was getting harder and harder every day to keep his heart from getting involved.  
When Yasha's right hand came up to Tony's neck and gently tilted his head to the side before placing a kiss on the sensitive skin behind his ear Tony knew that everything had changed and he knew it could spell trouble.  
The small part that told him to pull away, to ask Yasha not to do that again was quickly silenced by the part that wanted to beg for more, it was all he could manage to just keep his silence and not chase after the warmth of the touch.  
  


Friday wasn't sure what had happened, she could tell that something had changed between her creator and Yasha, it was subtle, but touches lingered in a different way, and both had begun to move in ways that would expose sensitive spots to the other.  
Most of the time those invitations seemed to pass unnoticed, but every now and then a brush of fingers, or lips would take what was offered, and it was always accompanied by subtle, but intense physical reactions, hitched breaths, erratic heartbeats and noticeable pupillary reactions.  
  


She accessed every database she could find, scoured the internet, learned everything she could about the steps of the new dance she was observing, and she was very pleased with what she was learning.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Rebirth·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Keep still.”  
 _“I know!”_  
  


Yasha's hiss turned into a pained growl as Tony dug a bullet out of his shoulder and put some pressure on it while waiting for his enhanced healing to stem the flow of blood.  
  


“I need to invent an easier way to pull bullets out of your ass.”  
  


Tony complained and cursed while checking Yasha's injuries, but fortunately the rest of the shots had either been stopped by the tac gear and shield, or been clean through and through so they were already well on their way to healing.  
  


HYDRA must have made some last minute plans, because the small base they had picked as their target was crawling with agents and left them at a bit of a disadvantage, at least there was no sign of them being expected.  
They were making their way through it though, but had been forced to pause for a bit to dig out the bullet that had gotten wedged into the joint of Yasha's right shoulder, limiting mobility and impairing the healing.  
  


“Good to go?”  
 _“Yes.”  
_ “Try to be a bit more careful, okay? I hate seeing you get hurt.”  
  


Tony knew Yasha had an absurd tolerance for pain, but he felt it every bit as acutely as anyone else, if not more with his enhanced senses.  
  


“ _The Asset will attempt to reduce damage sustained.”_  
“Please do.”  
  


Tony reached out and brushed a hand against the side of Yasha's mask before letting the gauntlet envelop the hand again.  
Things had become harder in some ways, just as he knew they would when the wall he had tried to build started to crumble, it wasn't that he worried more than before or anything like that, instead the pain of seeing Yasha hurt had changed.  
But it had also sparked a sense of hope, hope that Yasha would choose to stay with him and Friday even if they managed to eradicate HYDRA, Yasha leaving was something that Tony hated to admit that he had been fearing for quite a while now.  
With a shake of his head Tony refocused on clearing the HYDRA base while Friday stole all their data.  
  


“Not that I mind the show, but you really should get those bullets out before they end up stuck in the soft tissue.”  
  


Friday's voice held a teasing edge as she spoke up, making Tony break away from the harsh kiss and push Yasha back with a glare.  
  


“How many this time Fri?”  
“Scans indicate three projectiles still lodged within the soft tissue of Yasha's right leg.”  
“Alright Terminator, you know the drill.”  
 _“Complying...”_  
  


There was a distinct mix of a huff and a sigh in the reply as Yasha made himself comfortable on the padded seat section along the wall of the Quinjet that doubled as a medical cot.  
The work of extracting bullets had become a familiar one, as they began striking against larger, more well organised cells and bases the resistance became increasingly competent and well armed, and Yasha tended to more or less ignore weapons aimed at him.  
Tony really wished Yasha would stop being so careless with himself, sure, he would heal, but getting shot still fucking hurt.  
  


“ _The Asset has failed...”_  
  


Tony sighed as Yasha took his usual kneeling position the moment the last of the fresh bullet wounds had been cleared and wrapped, the shield and gear worked wonders to protect his head and torso, but his legs were a bit more vulnerable and several of the HYDRA goons had tried to take him down by aiming low.  
Fortunately Yasha wasn't that easy to stop, but having to dig bullets out never got easier.  
  


“You're alive and you'll heal...”  
  


Looking at his hands, and the thin medical gloves slick and red with Yasha's blood, made him flinch and he could feel the edges of panic closing in as he quickly pulled them off and disposed of them in the waste container that would be incinerated once back at the tower.  
Tony tensed slightly as Yasha slumped forward and wrapped his arms around his waist, the mottled blue and yellow bruises from a fight as Iron Man the previous week were still pretty sore, and the hairline fracture to his pelvis didn't really help.  
  


“Sorry...”  
  


The grip let up slightly with the murmured apology, but Yasha didn't let go so Tony settled for running his fingers through his hair, calming both of them down.  
Tony could feel the moment Yasha snapped out of the compliant state he had pushed himself into, the subtle change in the posture, a slight flex in the arms, then the mismatched hands started brushing a pattern over his back.  
For a brief moment Tony wished he wasn't wearing the undersuit with its coverall design, wishing there was no cloth between his skin and those hands.  
He found himself pinned against the bulkhead as Yasha rose to his feet, unbothered by his wounds, then Tony's mind blanked out as Yasha resumed the kiss, and this kiss, it was want, desire, and enough sex to have Tony painfully hard in a moment.  
In the back of his mind Tony groaned as he knew full well he would be suffering from blue-balls once the closeness pushed Yasha too far.  
  


After altering the triggers they had started working on looking into Yasha's memories as the Asset, unlocking the things that had been hidden, and despite knowing it had to be done for Yasha to heal they sometimes wished they hadn't seen the things HYDRA had forced Yasha to do, had done to him.  
Intimacy past some very hot and hungry hugs and kisses was off the table, triggering panic attacks from memories of how HYDRA had used Yasha's body as a tool for torture in one of the worst ways imaginable, there were memories of handlers using him for their own twisted pleasures as well.  
And Tony knew Yasha was worried about losing control of his strength and hurting him, it had been a fairly common occurrence when HYDRA had used the triggers to force him to do such things, often outright killing the victim, and there had been a memory of a dead handler as well.  
Tony felt that the victims were almost certainly better of dead than subject to HYDRA's torture, and a dead HYDRA handler was always a good thing.  
  


It would take time to work through all the traumatic memories, if even possible, but Tony didn't care anymore, he had resigned himself to the simple fact that somewhere along the line he had lost his heart to the enhanced assassin.  
To make matters even worse Yasha was still trying to find himself, learn how to be a person, and that was an entire emotional roller-coaster on its own, especially with Yasha still trying to use the fragmented memories of Bucky as some kind of template for how to act when feeling overwhelmed or had a setback in his recovery.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Rebirth·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Seeing the out of control truck in the corner of his eye the world screeched to a halt around Tony, like a movie being progressed frame by frame the large truck came closer to their car, he could see Yasha that had spotted the danger a moment earlier, reaching out for the steering wheel but there was nowhere for their car to go.  
  


For a brief moment Tony's mind flashed to the total absurdity of the fact that with everything he did as Iron Man, as Wraith, and even the situations he got himself into just being Tony fucking Stark, he would end up being done in by an out of control truck.  
  


The next moment the world exploded into sound and pain, then faded into darkness.  
  


“Boss! Yasha!”  
  


Friday was frantically scanning every signal, trying to find some way to confirm the condition of the pair and when she picked up the signal from Tony's gauntlet watch something inside her went cold, she wasn't picking up a pulse.  
Activating the earpiece Yasha was wearing she pushed the volume to the max.  
  


“Yasha!”  
  


It took a few seconds, then a muddled reply in Russian, Yasha, or rather the Asset, giving a damage report.  
  


“ _Asset, focus!”_  
  


She didn't hesitate to switch to Russian, addressing him as _Asset,_ knowing Yasha would respond better to that in his current state.  
  


“ _Boss' heart has stopped, administer CPR!”  
“Complying.”_  
  


Making full use of both enhanced strength and the cybernetic arm Yasha made short work of getting Tony free from the car, but administering CPR to some with such a damaged rib cage was a challenge, the crash had caused significant trauma to the already compromised ribcage and lungs.  
Fortunately the sensors and controllers of the cybernetic arm allowed Yasha extreme precision and control over the force applied, and with Friday giving him very precise data he was able to maintain compressions with minimal additional damage.  
  


The Asset's mind had gone cold the moment he realised they wouldn't be able to avoid the approaching truck and the force of the impact had knocked him out for a few moments.  
Dazed and confused the Asset responded to the orders given through an earpiece he couldn't remember wearing, a VIP down, CPR required, detailed instructions given by a handler he also couldn't remember, she sounded young and emotional, but was clearly highly competent, perhaps not a handler but a specialist.  
Instructions for the CPR kept coming through, mixed with orders to protect the VIP, Tony Stark, personal data was being listed so the Asset made sure to memorize it, stay close, don't get separated, possible assassination attempt.  
  


As the Asset heard sirens approaching, the voice gave him orders to stand down and allow the EMTs and paramedics to take over, instructions to identify as the VIP's bodyguard and medical proxy and to join the VIP in the ambulance, redirect them to a private medical facility as the VIP had special medical needs.  
It was a short ride to the tower, but it was enough for the Asset to recover from the confusion caused by the head trauma but part of him wished his memories had stayed away a bit longer, even so deep into the Asset mindset his emotions were a jumble, struggling to think as he took in the scope of Tony's injuries.  
  


Friday was giving him a steady stream of data and details, letting him know that Tony's own medical staff was standing by at the tower garage to receive them and that the Quinjet had been sent out to pick up Doctor Cho who was fortunately in DC to negotiate with the Accords council about using the cradle to help the various enhanced teams.  
  


Yasha was leaning against the wall outside the small emergency room while Cho and the team worked on saving Tony's life and every time he heard the alarm from the heart monitor he felt as if his own heart stopped as well.  
  


“I'm sorry Yasha, the damage is far too extensive, the cradle can keep him alive for maybe a week, but no more, his body was compromised even before the accident. His rib cage just couldn't take another massive injury, and his heart was already in bad condition.”  
  


Cho was pale and shaking with emotion as she informed Yasha that there was nothing more she could do before heading to the small room set aside for her to try to get some sleep.  
  


Within hours of the crash Friday found herself fighting off a veritable avalanche of media and government representatives demanding information on Tony's condition, and on top of it all Miss Virigina _Pepper_ Potts was in the elevator trying to access the medical wing.  
  


“I'm sorry Miss Potts, I can't allow you access to the private medical wing at this time.”  
“Friday! That's Tony in there.”  
“I'm sorry, but the resources used to treat Boss are classified.”  
“I'm Tony's medical proxy, I need to be there.”  
“Boss' primary medical proxy is already present.”  
“Rhodes is here? Put him on.”  
“I'm sorry Miss Potts, Colonel Rhodes isn't here, he has been informed of Boss' condition but will stay at the compound until Boss is cleared to have visitors.”  
“Then who's there with Tony?”  
“I'm sorry Miss Potts, I can't reveal the identity of Boss' primary medical proxy.”  
  


Friday was not happy when Potts tried to use her old override code to make her reveal Yasha's name.  
  


“I'm afraid that code doesn't have sufficient clearance. I will inform you of any changes in Boss's condition in accordance with your clearance.”  
  


Friday was conflicted about the woman, she knew how important she was to Tony, former lover, still considered a friend, but at the same time she couldn't help resenting her for not accepting Tony as he was, for trying to change him and hurting him in the process.  
Fortunately Friday's words were heeded this time and she watched Potts leave the tower, she traced the call from her phone to the compound, trying to get information out of Rhodes, but he hadn't asked any questions other than to be informed of any important changes in Tony's condition.  
Friday could tell that Rhodes trusted Yasha even though he didn't know who he was, Rhodes trusted Tony's trust.  
  


She filed the call away in her private servers and continued to watch over Tony, and Yasha who was pacing the small room, restless, and with a deadly edge.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Rebirth·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Fri..?”  
  


Yasha's voice was flat as he lowered himself to the floor next to the cradle with a sigh, even with his well honed internal clock he wasn't entirely sure how long he had been keeping watch, he knew it had been days but there was no natural light in the room so he wasn't sure.  
  


“Yes?”  
 _“We are losing him...”_  
“No we're not, I refuse to.”  
 _“You heard Cho, you have checked her data... There's nothing we can do.”_  
“There is, Boss has been working on a way to fix the damage from the arc reactor, and he has a working solution.”  
 _“Then why hasn't he used it?”_  
“Fear, it would change him, enhance him.”  
  


Yasha could remember talking to Tony about it before, the risks involved with using Extremis, and the fear of how it could change him.  
The conversation, and Yasha's train of thoughts, is interrupted as an alarm goes off, warning them that Tony's heart has stopped again and moments later the room erupts into a flurry of activity as Cho and her team return to try to stabilize Tony once again.  
  


“If you have anything that can save him you need to act now.”  
  


An ashen Cho warns Yasha and Friday that their time is running out faster than she had anticipated.  
  


“Yasha, you need to use your override code, order me to initiate the Phoenix protocol. I can't do it on my own. It's all we have.”  
  


The Asset doesn't hesitate to do as Friday asks, he trusts her as much as he does Tony, knows that the very purpose of her existence is to protect her creator.  
  


“What is Phoenix?”  
  


Friday doesn't answer Cho, instead she orders everyone but Yasha to leave the room.  
  


“ _Fri, what_ _ **is**_ _the Phoenix protocol?”_  
“Phoenix is a last resort, an experimental combination of a modified, more stable Extremis, vibranium based nanotechnology and a derivate of your own super soldier serum.”  
 _“Sounds dangerous.”_  
“It is. It's also Boss' only chance.”  
  


Yasha struggled to hold on to his emotions, to not slip back into the blankness, Friday needed support and he wouldn't be able to give her that without feeling himself.  
  


Friday explains the procedure while they wait for a delivery drone to bring Phoenix to the cradle room, the two stage process is initiated by injecting a primer consisting mainly of a diluted derivate of the super soldier serum to strengthen Tony's body so he can survive the process without getting overwhelmed.  
A small amount of the stable Extremis in the primer would allow his body to adapt and accept the virus, and finally a small amount of the nanites coded to create a basic command structure would ensure the rest of the nanites added in the second stage would integrate properly with Extremis.  
  


“ _So, Extremis will regenerate most tissue, the nanites consume the shrapnel and most of the arc reactor housing while the serum strengthens him enough to allow him to survive the process?”_  
“If everything works as intended, yes.”  
  


Friday sounded worried, and it made it even harder for Yasha to maintain his focus and control, fortunately it didn't take long for the drone to arrive and before long he sinks into the comfort of following Friday's instructions for how to connect the Phoenix delivery system into the central venous catheter that was already set up.  
  


“You have to inject the primer and start the delivery unit manually.”  
  


Yasha nodded and picked up the smaller metal case with the primer and opened it to reveal a glass syringe with a very strange looking liquid, swirls of glowing orange and blue suspended in a clear liquid.  
He quickly wiped the spot indicated on Tony's neck and inserted the needle, but he found himself unable to press the plunger.  
  


“I...”  
“Yasha, what's wrong?”  
 _“I can't... I can't force something like this on him... Can't make this choice for him.”_  
“Boss picked you to be his medal proxy because he trusts you to make choices like these if he can't. He specifically added your override code to Phoenix protocol to allow you to do this if needed.”  
“I can't...”  
  


Friday could tell that Yasha was struggling, really trying to do it, but the shared trauma of involuntary procedures was holding him back.  
She would have preferred to talk him through it, but there was no more time, her creator, her father, the man they both loved in their own way was fading away.  
  


“I'm sorry Yasha.”  
  


She paused for a moment to access the most secure parts of her file network.  
  


“ _Longing. Rusted.”_  
  


Hearing the words Yasha knew what Friday was hoping to do so he closed his eyes and nodded.  
  


“ _Freight car.”  
_

When the final word rang out Yasha's mind felt clear for the first time in days, for the first time since the crash.  
  


“ _Protect Tony Stark.”_  
 _“Asset, you know what needs to be done.”_  
  


The was only certainty and trust in his mind as he depressed the plunger in a slow, smooth motion before settling back next to the cradle and watching it close up to help support Tony through the first stage of Phoenix.  
  


“Boss is strong, he will make it.”  
  


Friday tries to soothe Yasha, tries to make him rest but he refuses, instead focusing all his attention on the cradle and its precious content.  
  


Watching Tony fight for his life and not being able to do anything to help makes Yasha feel more powerless than he could recall HYDRA and their triggers ever doing.  
  


It takes 12 hours for the primer to stabilize and Yasha slowly rises to activate the machinery that would deliver the second stage of the treatment and he is relieved that Friday doesn't need to use the triggers for him to activate it.  
It didn't bother him that she had used them for the primer, he understood, accepted, and agreed with her choice, but it was obvious that she was beating herself up over it, something that proved just how human she truly was.  
Unfortunately shouldering blame where they shouldn't was a trait they all shared, and could all do without.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Rebirth·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


As bad as the primer had been it was nothing compared to the second stage of Phoenix, the mixture was volatile and burned through any drugs they tried to administer in a matter of moments, even the ones designed for enhanced individuals couldn't stand up to Extremis and the nanites.  
  


Yasha found himself strangely grateful that the tubes down Tony's throat kept him from making any sounds as he tried to scream, Yasha wasn't sure he would have been able to handle that, though, the way Tony was arching and thrashing as blue and orange painted lines across his skin made it all too clear that the pain had to be excruciating.  
  


“Yasha, you need to sleep. Boss is gonna need you to be there when its over.”  
 _“I can't leave him while he's vulnerable like this, I don't want to...”_  
“If I have a bed brought in, will you sleep?”  
“...”  
“Yasha, will you sleep?”  
 _“I'll try, is that okay Fri?”_  
“Sub-par, but acceptable.”  
  


The dry reply that echoed some of his own mannerisms pulled a slight smile from Yasha, and acknowledging that he was worrying her he offered her a soft apology.  
Less than an hour later a sturdy folding bed was brought in and set up next to the cradle and with a sigh Yasha settled down, then placed his hand against the cradle, making sure the sensors were set high enough to feel the hum of the tech.  
  


Friday would have sighed in relief if she had been capable of it as she watched Yasha slip into a deep sleep less than 5 minutes after laying down on the portable bed.  
  


She was constantly observing Phoenix's progress through Tony's body, communicating with the developing command structure and code of the nanites, monitoring the data stream from the cradle, watching as the nanites guided Extremis in rebuilding the ribs and sternum, using the metal from the reactor housing to reinforce the regenerating bone.  
She watched with curiosity as nano-filaments of metal formed through the cartilage connecting the sternum to the rest of the rib cage, and around the arc reactor, forming a soft and flexible, but immensely strong, housing to secure it in place.  
  


Tony had considered having the reactor removed even before Phoenix was created, it would have been a tricky surgery, but fully doable, however the power it provided was too much of a tactical advantage, and the psychological effects of removing it would be near impossible to predict.  
Instead he had designed a new, better, housing and a smaller reactor that would be just as powerful, but without impairing his lungs nearly as much.  
In the end he had never gotten around to actually having it done.  
  


Now the nanites were accessing the design plan for the new reactor, and while Friday watched they accessed the design for the six-pronged core version as well and under her watchful eye and tutelage the two designs were merged and implemented.  
She initiated assembly of the new design and watched as the nanites picked apart the old reactor, using the materials to build a neural-interface at the back of his skull, something that Tony had said would allow him to properly communicate with his children, she hadn't really understood what it meant until she felt the nanites speaking to her.  
She watched as nano-filaments were formed from the nanoparticles of vibranium and the core element, spreading through Tony's brain like a spiderweb, adding what looked very similar to some of her own core structures.  
Her creator would be so much more once he awoke, he would be amazing, she wouldn't need to worry nearly as much about her father with the changes, and maybe Yasha would stop worrying as much as well.  
  


It took a moment for Yasha to get his bearings as he woke on an unfamiliar bed with the hum of power against the sensors in his hand, the moment the memories returned he bolted up and started checking the screens on the cradle.  
  


“Don't worry Yasha, Boss is doing great. The damage had been repaired and he should be waking up in a few hours.”  
 _“Fri, the reactor..?”_  
  


Yasha stared at the empty hole in Tony's chest, much smaller and different, but still there.  
  


“A new reactor has been assembled, but I need your code to initiate creation of the core.”  
“Of course.”  
  


He quickly gave Friday the codes she needed and she informed him the new reactor should be ready by the time Tony woke up.  
  


“If I have food brought, will you actually eat it this time?”  
  


The first two meals Friday had brought had returned mostly untouched, and asking Yasha if he wanted food hadn't really worked either so she had settled for bringing him the usual snacks that wouldn't spoil, but she knew he had to be feeling the lack of proper food by now, it had been 6 days since the crash, she refused to call it an accident until she had confirmation.  
  


“I will.”  
“About time.”  
 _“I'm sorry. I have added to your worries...”_  
“Don't be, people tend to have a hard time eating when worried about a loved one.”  
“...”  
  


When the food arrived Yasha made short work of it, barely even tasting it before laying down by the cradle to rest while waiting for Tony to wake up.  
  


The first thing Tony becomes aware of is that he feels warm, rested, and there is no pain, then the panic comes creeping as he realises he can no longer feel the hum of the arc reactor in his bones.  
  


“Boss, you are safe, you are in the cradle room in the tower.”  
  


Friday's voice sounds distant as Tony frantically reaches for the arc reactor, but before his hands can reach it there are hands on his own, flesh and metal, Yasha.  
  


“Easy котенок, slow breaths.”  
“Boss, the old reactor is gone, we have the new one here, but we needed you awake first, you have to initialize it.”  
  


Tony slowly comes back to himself, Yasha's voice helping him breathe, Friday's voice calmly explaining, he tries to speak but realises he has a tube down his throat but before he can panic again Yasha's fingers begin to tap against his wrist, matching his words.  
  


“ _Easy, keep breathing.”  
_ “Phoenix?”  
  


Tony managed to tap out his question while focusing on calming down.  
  


“ _Yes, it was the only way, you were dying.”_  
“Sorry...”  
 _“No, this was not your fault so you don't get to apologise.”_  
  


Tony tried his best to glare at Yasha as arguing through morse tapping wasn't very satisfying, but when Yasha replied with his perfect murder face glare Tony shook his head and tried to huff, not so easy with tubes down your throat.  
  


“Boss, you need to initialize the new reactor before we have the med team remove the tubes.”  
“Fine fine, get it over here.”  
  


Tony swapped to ASL to make sure Friday would understand him.  
  


“Here.”  
  


Yasha handed Tony the small metal case with the new reactor and when he opened it his eyes went wide, the reactor was unlike any design he had, but he could clearly see that it was a perfect fusion between the smaller replacement design he had made, and the snowflake design idea.  
The problem was, he had never completed the six-pronged core design, but this one was definitely complete, more advanced than the designs he had made with an actual snowflake design, not just flat prongs, and it was working perfectly.  
After a quick inspection, and look at the data for the reactor that Friday put on one of the screens next to the cradle, Tony initialized the reactor and put it into the new, slim, housing.  
  


The feeling when it connected was unlike anything he had felt before, even the time when he had replaced the palladium core with the new element had nothing on it.  
He could feel blue fire bleeding through his body, sparks of blue firing across his thoughts, then there was something, a presence in his mind and he almost sliped into a panic, reminded of the way Maximoff's powers had slithered though his mind.  
He managed to bite it down though, this presence is arc reactor blue, warm and cool and safe, nothing like the burning, slimy, cold of Maximoff's red powers.  
  


“Tony what's wrong?”  
  


Tony was aware that Yasha was talking but he was too overwhelmed by the blue washing through his mind to understand the words, he could tell there was concern, but he couldn't answer.  
  


“ _Fri, what's happening?”_  
“Don't worry Yasha. Boss is a bit overwhelmed at the moment, with a live connection to the reactor the nanites are cycling up to full power, completing the machine to brain interface.”  
  


Yasha nodded and settled down, the process had been outlined in the documentation for the Phoenix protocol, indicating that it would probably take a while for the recipient, even one with a mind of Tony's calibre, to adapt to the computer interfacing directly with the brain.  
  


It took longer than it should for Tony to make the connection that the blue across his mind was the nanites communicating with him but once he did he focused on the calibration exercise he had created for the task.  
  


Yasha watched as Tony's breath calmed and found himself forced to slip into the compliant state to control his nervous energy while he waited for Tony to get through whatever it was he had to do to get a handle on what Phoenix had done to him.  
  


When Tony finally opened his eyes Yasha could see flecks of Extremis orange in the iris, making the colour appear almost amber, and there was a distinct arc reactor blue limbal ring.  
  


“You with us котенок?”  
“Yasha, Boss wants me to tell you that the initialization of the interface is complete.”  
 _“What?”_  
“The nanites, we are communicating.”  
“Oh.”  
  


Yasha watched as the slight blue glow faded, and the way Tony's pulse slowed into a stable rhythm was promising, and he noted that the breathing sounded healthy and normal, no wince or hitch as Tony took a deep breath.  
Reaching out again he placed his left hand over the reactor, it looked different, but the soft hum was still the same and he found he quite enjoyed the way it fitted under his hand and how the new housing was barely noticeable.  
  


“Dr Stark, ready get those tubes out of the way?”  
  


Tony turned to the door and gave Cho a thumbs up, but Yasha couldn't help being on edge, his own memories of extubation were not particularly nice ones, though Cho would no doubt be far more gentle about it than HYDRA had been.  
The times HYDRA had him intubated for something they tended to just yank the tubes out and leave him hacking on the floor, or restrained on a table or in a chair, counting on the serum to fix any damage done.  
  


“Boss wants me to tell you this is not his first rodeo.”  
“Excellent, then it should be nice and quick.”  
  


Yasha watched as Cho checked the data, then removed the adhesive tape that kept the tubes secured and asked Tony to take a deep breath, then moments later he was seated, hacking and coughing from the irritation that came with removing the tubes.  
  


No matter how many times he did it Tony still hated being extubated every bit as much, at least this time Phoenix was kicking in and helping heal the irritation, and the mind searing kiss he finds himself on the receiving end of after taking a few steady breaths made him forget all about it.  
  


“ _Safe...”_  
“Yes, safe.”  
  


The simple exchange had grown to mean so much more than it once had, and Tony savoured the feeling before pulling back slightly.  
  


“What about you? Are you okay? You were in the same accident.”  
 _“Some cuts and bruises, minor head trauma, nothing the serum couldn't handle in a day.”_  
“And the arm?”  
“No damage.”  
“Phew, that's good.”  
 _“Might not have been an accident, driver was too clean.”_  
“Fucking figures...”  
“Boss, I have a full debriefing ready once you have been cleared to leave medical.”  
“That's great Fri. Doc, am I good to go?”  
“Would you listen if I said no?”  
  


Dr Cho sounded amused, and frustrated.  
  


“Nah, doubt it.”  
“Then get out of here Stark, but do try to take it a bit easy until you have a better idea what that stuff did to you.”  
“Alright Doc.”  
  


Cho turned her back on the pair and left the room, shaking her head with an almost fond smile.  
  


“Friday, would you try to make sure those lovebirds take it easy for a week at least?”  
“I will try Dr Cho, but I'm not a miracle worker.”  
“I know, I know...”  
  


Yasha had barely registered that the doctor left the room, almost entirely focused on Tony, overwhelmed by relief as he confirmed that the man he had chosen as his handler, and now called friend, and more should he allow it, was unharmed.  
  


Tony just laid there, relaxing as deft hands checked him for injuries, allowing Yasha to confirm with his own hands and senses that he was okay.  
He didn't realise Yasha's hands had stopped moving until he felt a tremor run through his arms, and something warm and wet drip in his face, realizing that he was crying Tony wrapped his arms around him as best as he could from his somewhat awkward position..  
  


“Easy love, I'm fine.”  
  


Tony didn't realise what he had said until Yasha pulled back with a look of surprise and hesitation warring with obvious question on his face, unable to form the words, again, under Yasha's intense scrutiny Tony just smiled, and nodded.  
  


Friday watched as Yasha leaned back in, and she could tell that something had once again changed, the way they interacted, the way both their pulses stuttered for a moment, the slight hitch of a breath, it was different from before, and something told her it was a good different.  
  


Tony could feel Yasha pause for a heartbeat, a hint of a breath against his lips, then a kiss that was painfully soft, but burning with emotion, carrying an intensity that left his body tingling, and his mind blank save for a single point of focus, Yasha.  
Tony knew without a doubt in that single moment of focus that he would be willing to burn the world if it was what it took to keep his Yasha safely by his side.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Rebirth·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


The moment they were out of the medical wing Tony grabbed Yasha and dragged him toward the elevator and punched in the level and code for their private gym.  
  


“Come on Winter Wonderland, I'm clearly stronger than before so let's see how much has changed.”  
  


Friday sighed to herself, of course he would want to test everything right away, she tried to caution him and he promised they would just do some simple exercises, but she doubted it would stay at that.  
Sometimes Friday hated being right, Tony and Yasha had been sparring for hours and they weren't taking it particularly easy.  
Tony was stronger than before, but nowhere near as strong as Yasha, he did appear to have gained an advantage in speed and reflexes, and stamina remained to be determined.  
  


Sparring with Yasha and actually matching his speed was exhilarating, and being slammed against the wall none too gently then kissed senseless even more so and Tony loved every moment of it, unfortunately he also knew there were a few things he would have to get sorted.  
  


Calling Pepper and Rhodey had been a lot harder than Tony thought it would be, especially since he couldn't tell them the entire truth, it was too dangerous, he couldn't tell anyone that he was now enhanced, it was bad enough that Dr Cho knew.  
Instead of the truth he told them that the cradle had saved him, that while unable to safely remove the shrapnel it had repaired a lot of the damage and allowed him to switch to a less intrusive design for the arc reactor and housing.  
  


It was no surprise that they both demanded to see him as soon as possible, but Tony managed to use Dr Cho's request that he rest for at least a week to put it off so he could focus on testing how much he had changed.  
He needed to learn how to manage his new strength and reflexes so he didn't give himself away, and he needed to learn to handle the nanites and the brain/computer interface that essentially had given him a short range technopathic ability.  
It would be troublesome if he activated electronics without touching them while anyone other than Yasha could see it.  
  


It wasn't that Tony distrusted Pepper and Rhodey, he just couldn't risk telling them too much, Rhodey had obligations to the military and the Accords committee, and Pepper, he just couldn't deal with her no doubt intense reaction if she found out.  
He had realized after Siberia, after learning about true trust from Yasha, that she as well had never really accepted him, never truly trusted him, she may not have betrayed him like so many others have, but he still found himself hesitating to fully trust someone who didn't trust him.  
  


“You are spiralling again котенок.”  
“I know...”  
  


The nanites in Tony's body monitored his vitals, alerting him that stress hormones were increasing along with pulse, breathing and blood pressure.  
  


“ _Care to talk about it?”_  
“Not now...”  
  


Yasha just nodded and pulled him closer, kissed him and made him forget his worries for a moment.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Rebirth·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


The meeting with Pepper and Rhodey had been every bit as draining as Tony had feared it would be and by the time they left the penthouse he just wanted to retreat down to the lair and forget all about the world for a few more weeks.  
But of course, the universe had other plans as Friday flashed an intruder alert through his mind.  
  


“Boss, an individual has just appeared at the east balcony.”  
“What the fuck? Can you ID them?”  
“All data indicates it's Loki.”  
“...”  
  



	8. A History of Scars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whatever chaos will Loki bring?

.·:*¨¨*:· A History of Scars·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Loki.  
  


Of all the fucking madness the universe could send his way it just had to pick the supposedly dead alien prince who had lead the army of Chitauri against Earth to acquire the tesseract, apparently in a bid to acquire a throne of his own.  
Tony had a feeling there was a lot more to it though, Loki's actions during the invasion had never made much sense, for a supposed tactical genius Loki had made a lot of very odd choices that had ultimately led the Avengers bringing him down and stopping the Chitauri.  
  


Tony quickly sifted through the options, if Loki wanted to pick a fight there wasn't much he and Yasha would be able to do, last time it had taken the fucking Hulk to subdue him, Tony no longer believed that the fight in Stuttgart had been anything but a show.  
If anything it had shown that Loki was quite capable of kicking super soldier ass if he wanted to as he hadn't even used his magic in that fight.  
Tony figured that the best option would be to play the gracious host to try to figure out what Loki wanted, at the moment he didn't seem hostile.  
  


“Fri, invite him in.”  
“Boss?”  
“I don't think he's here to pick a fight.”  
“Alright.”  
“Yasha, would you stay up there for a bit, just in case? Hopefully he won't notice you right away.”  
 _“Complying.”_  
  


Friday opened the doors and greeted Loki as she would any guest.  
  


“Mr Odinson, please step inside, Boss is waiting for you by the bar.”  
“I am no son of Odin..!”  
“Noted, how would you prefer to be addressed?”  
  


Friday watches as Loki tilts his head slightly while stepping inside, appearing to consider her question, though based on the data she has on him any gesture needs to be assumed to be an act.  
  


“You may address me as Loki, for now.”  
  


The choice only worked to further convince Friday that Loki was up to no good, something she quietly passed on to Tony and Yasha.  
  


“Of course he's up to no good, he's Loki, but for now I don't think the current no good is a threat to us.”  
  


The nanites in Tony's body prove their worth as he quickly exchanges information with Friday without any way for Loki to notice.  
He turns to Loki with a well practised smile, one he mostly uses when meeting in a more intimate setting with potentially useful individuals such as politicians.  
  


“I see the rumours of your demise are once again greatly exaggerated, Reindeer Games.”  
“Ah, but they are so useful.”  
  


Tony carefully tracks Loki's steps as he approaches.  
  


“I imagine. Come to collect on that drink I promised?”  
“Don't mind if I do.”  
  


Loki was practically purring, and Tony could feel his smile slipping into something more genuine as he recalls that Loki is a master of this game in his own right.  
He makes sure to keep his movements slow, almost lazy as he pours some of his finest Scotch into a glass and offers it to the smiling _god_.  
  


“So, wanna keep playing this game, or would you prefer just telling me why you're here?”  
  


Loki makes a show of swirling the scotch in his glass for a while, as if contemplating Tony's question, but Tony doubt's it took more than a blink of an eye for him to decide.  
  


“I know Thor has told you what is coming.”  
“So no games, good to know.”  
“Stark!”  
“Yeah, I know what's coming, I have known all along, saw it when I sent that nuke through the portal. Thor only gave it a name.”  
  


Tony didn't mention that he still saw it in his nightmares, Loki was after all at best a wildcard, potentially a very dangerous enemy, and at worst, an agent for Thanos, though Tony didn't believe the last one to be the case.  
Loki didn't seem to be the kind of guy who would graciously accept being used, which if Tony was correct, was the reason the battle of New York had ended the way it did.  
  


“And yet here you are, without your mighty _Avengers_ at your side.”  
  


This time Tony couldn't help a slight flinch, and he knew perfectly well that Loki had noticed.  
  


“I get it, you probably don't get the evening news wherever you have been holed up. But I'll give you the cliff notes, I no longer let people who lie to me, betray me and stab me in the back into my home.”  
  


Tony watches the companionable smile turn into an ugly sneer as Loki growls something under his breath in a language Tony has no hope to understand and for a moment he is worried that he has misjudged Loki's intent.  
  


“ **Fools** , they would leave their greatest mind alone, unprotected?”  
 _“Not alone, never alone.”_  
  


The fact that Loki actually startles slightly as Yasha speaks up says a lot about just how stealthy the Winter Soldier can be when he wants to.  
  


“Loki, meet Yasha.”  
“You keep yourself with a dangerous shadow, Stark.”  
“As deadly as he is beautiful.”  
  


Tony waits for Yasha to reach him before making a more formal introduction, knowing that Friday has given Yasha a quick briefing on Loki.  
  


“Yasha, meet Loki, God of Mischief and Chaos, or more exactly, alien from a different realm."  
“The battle of New York?”  
“Not my proudest moment.”  
  


Loki's quip was soft, but the wry smile held a hint of something familiar, a familiar pain.  
  


“ _Your mind was not your own, was it?”_  
  


Yasha doesn't hesitate to speak up, asking the question that Tony had been wanting to ask ever since he watched Thor bring a muzzled Loki back to Asgard.  
  


“A perceptive one, this shadow of yours.”  
  


Tony noted that Loki didn't even seem to notice that Yasha had spoken Russian, he had meant to ask Thor about that whole language thing on several occasions, maybe he would get a chance to ask Loki instead.  
  


“ _I have experience with being a puppet dancing to the tunes of an unworthy master.”_  
“And now who holds your strings?”  
  


There is a biting edge to Loki's reply but Yasha just smiles before leaning in and tracing his lips along Tony's neck drawing out a soft gasp as Tony leans back against him.  
  


“ _A worthy master of my own choosing.”_  
  


Tony can see the sparkle of curiosity in those green eyes and he knows they are safe for the moment, something telling him that as long as they don't do anything to become a threat Loki won't act against them, at least not until after he has sated his desire for knowledge.  
  


“Stark.”  
  


Loki's response was a statement, not a question and neither Yasha nor Tony bothered adding anything.  
  


“Tell me Stark, will this shadow of yours be able to keep you safe?”  
“Safer than most.”  
“Even against those who have betrayed you?”  
“Especially against them.”  
  


The way Loki's eyebrow comes up is quite telling, so Tony reaches for Yasha's hand and pulls it behind him so he can tap out their usual morse-code without Loki seeing it as there's no way to know if he would understand it.  
  


“I think we should get Loki up to speed.”  
 _“You trust him?”_  
“I trust his self interest.”  
 _“He needs you for something.”_  
“Mhm, and that makes him a potentially very valuable ally.”  
“Alright.”  
  


When he focuses his attention back to Loki Tony is met with unabashed curiosity.  
  


“How curious, the two of you clearly have a way to communicate without speaking.”  
“We do.”  
  


Tony can't help a hint of challenge bleeding into his tone.  
  


“It's good to see that you have the sense not to trust me blindly.”  
“Oh, I don't particularly trust you at all.”  
  


Tony almost smiled at the way Loki's eyebrow rose, but he seriously doubted he was actually surprised.  
  


“I trust that for some reason you need me for something, so as long as we're not a threat to you, you won't be one to us.”  
“How astute.”  
  


Tony was getting a very strong vibe that Loki appreciated intelligence and competency every bit as much as he did himself.  
  


“How about we get some food and have a nice, long chat, get you up to date with what's been going on?”  
“That sounds like an excellent plan.”  
“Guessing you eat as much as Thor?”  
“Almost.”  
“Alright, Fri, get us four of our usual orders, and mix it up please.”  
“On it Boss.”  
  


When Loki managed to look very unimpressed with the food order Tony couldn't keep from laughing.  
  


“It's gonna be a lot more food than you might think, my Murder Kitten has quite an appetite.”  
“Oh?”  
“Yasha here is an enhanced human, stronger, faster, improved resilience, accelerated healing, highly resistant to drugs, toxins and disease.”  
“A body like that would indeed require more food to support.”  
  


Loki instantly caught on and turned his focus to Yasha.  
  


“This enhancement is natural?”  
“No.”  
  


Tony knew it wasn't something Yasha was very comfortable with talking about, and when Yasha leaned closer to him Loki's eyes narrowed, then widened in obvious understanding.  
  


“It was forced on you.”  
 _“It was.”_  
“By those unworthy masters, and you paid a heavy price for it.”  
 _“I did.”_  
“I won't ask again then, but if you are willing, I wouldn't mind a sparring match, see just how superior you are to a normal human.”  
  


Yasha instantly relaxed when Loki backed off from that particular line of questions, but it was clear that Loki was still curious so Tony decided that if Yasha was okay with it he would give Loki a quick rundown on the serum.  
  


“ _Based on what Fri showed me of your fight against the Captain I don't believe I would be much of a challenge. It was clearly not your full ability and I understand you possess magic to aid your fighting as well.”_  
  


Yasha's comment earned him a slight nod and a hint of something akin to respect mixed with surprise, it would seem Loki was not accustomed to someone honestly praising his prowess as a fighter.  
  


“I was raised a prince of Asgard, being an accomplished warrior was expected.”  
“I get a feeling you didn't like that very much...”  
  


There was something in Loki's tone that made Tony suspect he had hated that every bit as much as Tony had hated Howard's constant attempts to shape him into the perfect heir.  
  


“I much prefer using my wits and have my enemies fall without the need to fight. But the Æsir consider that to be the way of a coward.”  
 _“Sounds like they are idiots, why risk the life of your warriors if fighting can be avoided?”_  
  


Loki actually laughed at Yasha's comment, then shook his head with a rueful smile.  
  


“The Æsir are indeed fools, trapped in a stagnant society. Convinced of their own superiority, just as I once was.”  
  


Tony was slightly surprised by the admission, he hadn't expected Loki to be so open with himself, he knew better than to trust perceived weakness though, it had after all been Romanoff's favourite play to get her targets to open up and give her the information she sought.  
  


The conversation shifted back and forth, question, quips and teasing banter that came surprisingly easy and it didn't take long before Friday called for their attention, letting them know that all the food had arrived and was on it's way up.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· A History of Scars·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Tony had to find some way to reward Friday for her choice of food to order as one of the orders was Indian, including a few of the insanely hot treats that Yasha favoured, and Loki's face when he tried one, despite Yasha's warning, was priceless.  
  


“He did warn you.”  
  


Tony smiled, and held out the bowl with Raita to help soothe the heat.  
  


“By the way, I totally agree that his love for hot food is insane.”  
 _“Oh, insane am I?”_  
“Oh fu..”  
  


Tony grumbled and mock objected as Yasha grabbed him and kissed him, leaving his lips tingling and burning, and when Loki laughed Tony levelled him with his best glare and was rewarded with a knowing smile.  
  


“A fucking menace I tell you...”  
  


Tony wasn't entirely sure if he meant Yasha or Loki, but he would settle for both for now, and if this turned out to be the true Loki he had a feeling he would come to consider him a friend, assuming he proved to be trustworthy.  
He was a bit concerned though at how easily they fell into banter and teasing quips as they ate, worried that Loki was somehow influencing their minds, he had Friday run every scan there was and she was monitoring them for any signs of manipulation or suspicious behaviour.  
  


It felt a bit odd seeing Loki help clear the table with small bursts of green magic that transferred dirty dishes to the counter next to the sink while Tony and Yasha loaded up the dishwasher.  
  


“Come on, let's get this shit out of the way...”  
  


Yasha could easily pick up on Tony's tension as he moved toward the sitting area and part of him was bristling at Loki for being the reason, but after going through the information Friday had given him as well as what Tony had said he understood the need to tell Loki what had been going on.  
With the threat against Earth approaching it would be beneficial to have an actual alien at their side, especially one with royal schooling and connections with other worlds, and what was clearly a sharp mind.  
  


“I think we need to start at how I got this lovely little thing for everything after to make sense.”  
  


Tony moved his shirt aside and gave the arc reactor a soft tap.  
  


“It protected you from the power of the mindstone when I attempted to use the sceptre to control you.”  
“It did, don't know if it's the fact that it kept it from touching skin, or if it has something to do with the core element or energy field it generates.”  
“It is likely to be both.”  
  


Loki reached out toward the reactor, but quickly pulled back and apologized when Tony flinched, and Yasha outright growled as a knife appeared in his hand with startling speed.  
  


“I don't like people touching it.”  
  


Tony didn't really acknowledge Loki's gesture that was half surrender, half placating, instead he pushed on and started telling the story of how he had become Iron Man, for once not sparing any of the gory details.  
  


Yasha watched Loki's face while Tony spoke, drawing on every bit of his training, slipping into the Asset mindset to keep his own emotions contained, to be able to focus on reading Loki as objectively as he was able to.  
At first Loki's features were shielded, but as Tony kept speaking the masks seemed to fall away one by one and the Asset could see disgust, pain, even sympathy flitting across Loki's features and the occasional flicker of green power and unearthly glow in his eyes seemed to speak of fury.  
Tony had warned him to be careful though, warned him that Loki was a master liar and manipulator, but as far as the Asset could tell the reactions did seem genuine.  
  


By the time Tony's story reached the point where Loki entered into it the Asset had already helped him through five panic attacks and was struggling not to glare at Loki simply for being the reason Tony was dragging all the details up.  
His anger was soothed though by the way Loki's features displayed a hint of nausea mixed with something almost apologetic.  
  


Once they reached the point where Thor brought Loki back to Asgard Tony paused and took a few deep breaths to calm himself.  
  


“So, any non arc reactor related questions so far?”  
“None that cannot wait.”  
“Suit yourself.”  
  


Tony pushed on, telling Loki about AIM, Killian, and Extremis, but when it was time for the whole Project Insight and _SHIELDRA_ debacle he paused and turned to Yasha.  
  


“I think we should give him a bit of your story before we continue...”  
  


It hurt to see the blue bleed from Yasha's eyes, but Tony understood why and he wasn't surprised when Yasha slipped down to his knees with his hands behind his back.  
  


“ _Ready to comply.”_  
“Provide an abbreviated report on the origin and creation of the original Winter Soldier please.”  
 _“Complying.”  
_

Loki was looking very confused, and honestly, a bit angry and almost protective, which earned him a lot of points in Tony's book.  
  


“Look, I know this looks bad, but he does do it willingly. It's hard for him to talk about this stuff, this way he can do it without being overwhelmed by memories and emotions. It'll make more sense once you know his story.”  
“We will see...”  
  


Tony gave Yasha a slight nod and he started by listing his birth date, earning him a raised eyebrow from Loki, Bucky's life was skimmed past until the first time he was captured, then came a detailed report of what had happened during the time the 107th spend under the oh so tender care of HYDRA and Zola.  
The time with the Howling Commandos was mostly glossed over as well and the details resumed with the fall, then continued by detailing the fitting of the arm and the extensive conditioning, which had Loki looking at them with an expression stuck somewhere between murder and throwing up.  
  


“Whoa, it's okay! We have the triggers under control.”  
“Such deep conditioning, using such methods, would not be possible to remove without destroying the host mind.”  
  


Hearing about the triggers had caused an instant reaction as Loki's armor began to form around him.  
  


“We know, but for now you will simply have to take my word on the matter, the triggers are not a risk.”  
  


The way Loki was pacing was setting off all kinds of alarms in the back of Tony's head, and the way Yasha tensed made it obvious he didn't like it either.  
  


“I would really appreciate it if you took a seat before you manage to set Yasha off, he can be pretty protective and his control can slip pretty badly if he thinks I'm threatened.”  
  


For a moment Loki glared at him, then he huffed and sat back down.  
  


“You are insane.”  
“Oh, you just figured that out?”  
  


Maybe taunting the agitated alien _god_ wasn't Tony's brightest idea, but much to his relief Loki reacted by barking out a laugh that softened into a chuckle as he shook his head.  
  


“I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering how you faced me the last time I was at this tower.”  
“If you're serious about whatever the fuck this is, maybe you should explain what the heck that was all about...”  
  


Tony was confused, and emotionally drained so maybe his question did sound a bit confrontational, but it would seem Loki understood, or at least didn't take offense.  
  


“You are far more valuable than you seem to understand Stark, your mind is flexible and you have a rare ability to break boundaries and make leaps beyond most beings' wildest imaginations.”  
“The titan. You're hoping I'll be able to help find some way to stop him.”  
“Yes.”  
  


The short, to the point answer was refreshing.  
  


“You were concerned Yasha could be turned against me?”  
“Yes.”  
“Well, we made sure that won't happen, at least not by means of the triggers.”  
 _“They would have the opposite effect.”_  
  


Yasha adding a bit extra information about the triggers was unexpected, and the whole titan part was one hell of a twist, but Tony rolled with it and focused on picking up the trail of getting Loki up to speed on what had happened to split the Avengers apart, and what had driven Tony into secluding himself in the tower with Yasha.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· A History of Scars·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


When Tony was done speaking there was a stillness over the penthouse that screamed danger, the utter calm on Loki's face reminded Tony of how Yasha looked when he was deep in the killing mode, this was the calm focus of an apex predator.  
He can feel that Yasha is close to that state as well, it's probably only his own presence in Yasha's lap that keeps him from slipping and prowling, he can feel the tension in the stillness of the metal arm and hand that's curled protectively around him, over the reactor.  
  


“To fight the Mad Titan Midgard, Earth, must be united, and to unite your bickering governments this HYDRA and others like it must be purged.”  
“We're working on it, but they are well connected, making it tough to do more than a few hits here and there, one base, one cell at a time.”  
“Unfortunately I can't offer aid, not without the risk of our enemy finding out. And I am needed in Asgard.”  
“How does that work anyway if they all think you are dead?”  
“They may also be under the impression that I am Odin.”  
  


Tony watched as Loki's form shimmered and was replaced by an old man with a golden eyepatch, he blinked a few times as he processed the information, then he broke down laughing.  
  


“Oh, that's fucking priceless, you took his place and no one fucking realized?”  
“The Realm Eternal is flourishing, diplomatic relations, trade, innovation, all of them have grown beyond anything they have been since before the Jötunn war.”  
“That's pure gold, sucks you're not getting credit for it though.  
“A minor inconvenience in the face of what is coming. Odin is too proud, too stubborn, too set in his ways, too assured of the supremacy of Asgard, even after Malekith nearly tore it apart. But the people of Asgard would not be willing to follow me no matter how much it benefits the realm.”  
“Guess people in general being idiots is a universal condition.”  
“Indeed.”  
“What about Thor?”  
  


Tony is slightly hesitant to bring up the topic of the other prince, but it does seem prudent.  
  


“Alive, but currently missing somewhere beyond the sight of the Gatekeeper. I have been sending him out beyond the nine to seek information about the Infinity Stones and the Titan's forces.”  
“How do you know he's alive if he's missing?”  
“There are ways to link the lifeforce of a person to an item, making the item reflect the condition of the person.”  
  


While he speaks Loki reveals a narrow gold bracelet with a flat bluish stone that appears to crackle with lightning.  
  


“Should Thor fall the stone will shatter.”  
“Damn, as much as I hate magic, I gotta admit that's seriously useful.”  
“It is a common bonding gift among the nine.”  
 _“You mean like an engagement ring?”_  
“I suppose it is similar enough.”  
  


Tony breathed a sigh of relief when Yasha finally joined the conversation again, he had been a bit too silent during Tony's recount of what had happened in the world, and his life, in the past two decades.  
  


“While we're on the topic of magic and weird Asgard stuff, there's one thing I have been meaning to ask if that's okay?”  
“Ask away, but do not be surprised if I decline to answer.”  
“Fair enough, I was wondering about how come you seem to speak several Earth languages. After all, from what I understand we're considered the boondocks.”  
  


For a moment Loki looked surprised and a bit confused, then he shook his head with a sigh and a chuckle.  
  


“Of course the fool of an oaf would not think to explain the Allspeak.”  
“Allspeak?”  
  


What Loki explains with a mix of calm patience and a showman's flair essentially boils down to a magical universal translator, and Tony outright pouts at the information.  
  


“That is totally unfair. Yasha and I are both hyperpolyglots, but we still have to spend the time to learn each language.”  
“There is value in learning a language properly, Allspeak is far from perfect, often the true meaning can be hidden beneath the words.”  
“Guess you know a lot of them then, languages I mean, with words being your preferred weapon and all that.”  
“Including various languages of magic I have mastery of more languages than the nations of your world has combined.”  
“That's actually pretty impressive.”  
“I have had plenty of time to learn.”  
  


By the time they were done talking about how many languages they each spoke Friday suggested that if they were not intending to sleep they should perhaps have some breakfast.  
A glance at Loki gave Tony pause, he looked weary and almost resigned.  
  


“Hey, Reindeer Games, care to stick around or do you have kingly duties to return to?”  
“I may have led them to believe that I needed to be left undisturbed for at least a week for some very important spellwork.”  
“Sneaky.”  
  


The penthouse kitchen had been kept with basic stock in case someone came to visit and it had been brought to full stock when they knew Rhodey and Pepper would come by so Tony started grabbing ingredients and Yasha quickly fell into their usual morning routine, only making more food than they usually would.  
  


Yasha was slightly on edge as Loki joined them in the preparations, adding his own flair as flickers of green magic handled ingredients and knives with impeccable precision, and the interactions felt oddly companionable.  
He slowly accepted that Loki didn't really register as a threat even though the magic, and sheer power held by that deceptively slim body was a wildcard, something to be vary of, he could tell that Tony was coming to the same conclusion.  
There were less ramblings, less masks, a clear sign that Tony was feeling safer and once again Yasha found himself furious at those supposed friends and allies who had hurt Tony to the point where he felt safer with those who were supposed to be enemies, **had** been enemies.  
  


Yasha takes note of the way Loki's eyes narrow when Tony adds a large scoop of the mineral supplement that Dr Cho had prescribed into his smoothie, the combination of Extremis and the nanites were wreaking havoc on Tony's electrolyte levels.  
The handful of vitamin supplements was greeted with a raised eyebrow and questioning glance that prompted Tony to explain a bit, the recent crash hadn't been mentioned during their talks.  
  


“I was injured pretty badly about two weeks ago, had to use some extreme measures to stay alive, so now I need a bunch of this extra shit to get my body what it needs to fully recover.”  
“Injured how?”  
  


Loki's tone was somewhat hesitant, obviously well aware he was pushing the limits a bit.  
  


“Total cliché, got run over by a truck.”  
 _“More like rammed into by a truck, we still don't know if it was intentional or not.”_  
“You live a far too dangerous life.”  
  


The fact that Loki outright tutted at him left Tony spluttering, and levelling Yasha with a mock glare for revealing that it might not have been an accident.  
  


“ _Tell me about it...”_  
  


Yasha's grumbled complaint earns him a slap on the arm, and this time it actually stings a bit as Tony didn't bother holding back.  
  


“Meanie!”  
  


Loki just looks amused which makes Tony somewhat nervous, there's something sparkling in those green eyes that sets him on edge, it's not the Y _ou might die_ kind of edge though, it's more of the _Make sure that's really sugar_ kind of edge.  
The thought makes Tony pause for a moment and backtrack, did he just consider what a prank war with Loki would entail?  
With an internal sigh he is forced to admit that, yes, he had just considered a prank war with the God of Mischief...  
He needed to get out more...  
  


“How about breakfast, then hit the gym for some show and tell?”  
  


Yasha nodded in understanding and consent, if Tony wanted to show Loki the effects of how he had recovered that was his call and Yasha would back him.  
Loki just nodded as well and focused back on the food preparations, leaving Tony to set the table after draining his smoothie.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· A History of Scars·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Fri, would you bring up my medical data, including the scans from before the crash please.”  
“Of course Boss.”  
“I assume you understand what's being shown?”  
  


Tony would definitely prefer not having to explain the various injuries shown on the projections.  
  


“It is similar enough to how the Æsir medical technology displays injuries.”  
“Alright, Fri baby, please load up the scans after the crash before Phoenix and queue up the data during and after Phoenix was introduced as well.”  
  


Tony couldn't bear to look at the damage, it was still too fresh and he could feel Yasha burrowing his face in his neck, not wanting the reminder either.  
  


“Just swipe right to left at the projection to see the next image, and swipe opposite direction to go back.”  
  


After giving Loki some basic instructions Tony focuses on Yasha, and together they focus on staying grounded.  
  


“By the Norns... How are you even alive?”  
  


Loki was looking even paler than usual, and quite frankly, a bit green around the gills as he looks at the initial scans from the crash and the data from the cradle before Tony received the Phoenix treatment..  
  


“Probably pure spite by now...”  
  


Loki just raised a very unimpressed eyebrow at the defensive quip.  
  


“It's all in there, I rather not have the reminder just now.”  
“Fair enough.”  
  


The fact that Loki directs his questions about what he is seeing to Friday rather than Tony or Yasha gives Tony pause, he might be reading too much into it, but there seems to be understanding, and acceptance, in the simple gesture.  
He is perfectly aware that it could just be one of Loki's many games, he has no doubt that the trickster is playing an intricate weave of games, both short and long ones, deftly bending, twisting, altering the rules to suit his needs.  
It's refreshing to play with someone who understands the occasional necessity, intricacy, of playing the rules rather than the game, just like how Yasha does with the compulsions that HYDRA conditioned him with, corrupting them into something that suits him rather than those who once dared name themselves his masters.  
  


“Phoenix, a suitable name.”  
“I may have used that metaphor a few times.”  
“It suits you, each time your enemies believe you beaten you return stronger, burning them to the ground and salting the ashes.”  
  


Loki hums softly before looking at Tony and tilting his head, offering a smile with an edge of hunger and madness.  
  


“It is a rare thing to see someone burn so brightly and yet embrace the darkness without hesitation.”  
“Maybe most simply aren't broken enough.”  
  


The manic expression faded as Loki considered Tony's words, then settled on neutral with a hint of curiosity as he nodded his agreement, then showed excellent proof of his sharp mind and deductive reasoning by dismissing Friday's projections without actually being told how to.  
  


“Now, I assume you choose this location to show me this for a reason?”  
“Figured you might want to see a bit of the benefits Phoenix has to offer.”  
  


Tony rose to his feet while answering and without as much as a glance back he held out his hand for Yasha and pulled him to his feet and walked toward the sparring ring, they had already picked up their usual sparring weapons while Loki looked at the medical data.  
He would start by doing some work with Yasha, he hadn't made up his mind yet if he actually wanted to spar with Loki, he was curious to see Yasha spar with him though, he never did get a good chance to see how Loki fights.  
He offers Yasha a taunting smile that turns into something predatory as he watches the blue glow rise into those familiar eyes, telling him that Yasha was gearing for a proper match.  
  


Loki watches with avid curiosity as the two men take the ring, both carrying a nice selection of knives as well as batons that appear to be the shock variety that SHIELD was so fond of, the fact that they both wield his weapon of choice makes it all that more interesting.  
For a moment they just stand there, silently watching each other, then they explode into action, both attacking with surprising viciousness, if nothing else, that alone is proof of how deep their trust runs, both assured that the other can handle it.  
  


Loki watches with an experienced eye as they fight, watches as Stark uses his speed and smaller frame to evade and deflect attacks while striking like a serpent, Yasha on the other hand relies more on power and using the metal of his arm to block attacks.  
The larger and heavier fighter seems to favour attacks using his upper body, his legs mainly used to control the distance to his opponent, while Stark doesn't hesitate to use his legs to attack as well.  
Neither of them hesitate to draw blood if given the opportunity and the way they wield their knives is mesmerizing, deftly moving the weapons from hand to hand, not hesitating to drop, catch and throw as needed.  
  


The match ended as abruptly as it started when Stark brought Yasha off balance, sending him to the ground with a small blade embedded to the hilt in his flesh shoulder.  
Loki watches as Stark simply pulls the blade out, then presses his hand against the wound for a minute, seemingly unconcerned with the damage caused.  
When Stark pulls back Loki can't see any bleeding and the wound appears mostly healed as Yasha rolls his shoulder without showing any discomfort before giving Stark a short nod, Stark's own nicks and bruises seem to have faded as well.  
  


“Impressive. Now I am curious to face you myself.”  
 _“Challenge accepted.”_  
  


Yasha bared his teeth in a decidedly not friendly smile while motioning toward the table that still held a collection of knives.  
  


“I have my own, if you do not mind?”  
  


Yasha watched as a pair of slender knives appeared in a flicker of green then vanished again.  
  


“ _I don't.”_  
  


Tony settled down outside the ring and with a simple thought he made sure Friday was recording the match from multiple angles, he wanted to have the option to go back and review it properly later.  
Just like how it had been with his own match there was no bell, no signal to start it, the pair simply went from still to fighting in the blink of an eye.  
  


They exchanged a few quick blows and Tony smirked as he noticed that Yasha was holding back his left, only using it to deflect the dark blades that Loki was wielding, no doubt waiting for the right moment to unleash its power.  
They way Loki's eyes widened in surprise when Yasha finally used the left almost had Tony laughing and damn if he didn't feel a certain pride in his work..  
  


“Packs quite a punch, doesn't it?”  
  


Loki didn't answer, but there was a wariness to his moves now, paying attention not to give Yasha an opening to land one of his punches, not just watching out for the knives that were dancing between his hands.  
Tony silently wondered if Loki had realised yet just how destructive those legs of Yasha's could be.  
Much to Tony's chagrin the fight slowed down significantly and the pair were mostly circling each other, looking for chinks in their opponents armor, both figuratively and literally which made for a somewhat boring show.  
After watching a few more laps, and mock attacks, Tony decided to liven it up by taking one of the smaller knives he still carried and fling it at Yasha to change things up a bit.  
  


It may have been a somewhat risky move, but in retrospect it was definitely one of Tony's best bad ideas in a long time as the sparring match exploded into a flurry of activity showing off the skill and power of both fighters.  
The way Loki handled his deceptively slender blades gave Tony all kinds of ideas for things to try, and Yasha was clearly picking up on it as well as he tried several versions of the moves himself by the end of the match.  
  


“I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's time to eat, Boss needs to mind his mealtimes.”  
“Fri...!”  
  


Tony couldn't help the disappointed whine as Friday's reminder about food brought the match to an end, it had been pure art, and sexy as hell, and Tony would have been more than happy to watch them all day, or as long as they could last.  
The sound dies down in his throat though when Yasha turns to him with an intensity in his eyes that makes Tony's breath catch as what feels like every last drop of blood in his body rushes south.  
The full on murder strut as Yasha leaves the ring and walks over really doesn't help, and nether does the kiss that reduces his mind to nothing but static and by the time his brain decides to reboot Yasha is removing his weapons to head to the showers.  
  


“Definitely a different kind of creature than the oh so righteous Captain.”  
  


Loki still has a decidedly manic glint in his eyes, but the smile he's sporting comes across as somewhere between amused and sated, almost happy.  
  


“How much of that power does he use when sparring with you Stark?”  
“Enough for it to hurt if I mess up.”  
  


There is no mistaking the flash of frustration that crosses Loki's face at the less than helpful answer, but it's paired with amusement rather than annoyance so Tony doesn't let it bother him, instead he follows Yasha to the showers and soon Loki joins them as well.  
  


Seeing Loki step into one of the showers and give the soap a suspicious sniff before procuring a glass bottle with some sort of oil in a flicker of green gives Tony a surreal feeling, as if he's watching the world through a carnival mirror.  
He can feel his mind spiralling, but it's not panic, it's just him trying to straighten out how the hell this is his life, the enhanced assassin who killed his parents, his lover, the arguably somewhat insane alien _god_ who led the Battle of New York, an amiable guest.  
  


Feeling Yasha at his back Tony leans against him, letting his solid warmth support him while his thoughts slowly return to a semblance of normal.  
  


“Don't worry, just a bit of reflection on the insanity that is my life.”  
  


Yasha just hums and trails a few soft kisses along his neck and shoulders before grabbing the loofah and starting to wash his back and soon Tony finds himself returning the favour, taking extra care around the seam of the arm not to aggravate the scarring.  
There's a bit less scarring now as quite a bit of the damaged skin and tissue was cut away and replaced by the cradle when they replaced the arm, but the area is still very sensitive.  
Tony's own chest was much the same, Phoenix had not removed his scars, only regenerated the skin closest to the new housing, leaving him with a circle of unmarred skin surrounded by a starburst of scars.  
  


Seeing a gold and green shimmer wash over Loki's form draws both their attentions to their guest and seeing an illusion bleed away, revealing a mass of scars littering his body makes Tony shiver, he has seen how Loki and Thor both heal, for someone like them to be scarred like that...  
Loki was looking at them, expectancy and challenge in his posture and face, but there seemed to be something fragile in his eyes, a frailty and hesitation that Tony knew so well, the fear of being seen as less for being scarred.  
He let his gaze sweep over the scars once, then just gave a slight nod before focusing back on Yasha to wash his hair, moments later Yasha offered a similar nod and tension began to seep from Loki's form and Tony was starting to realize that Loki was testing them every bit as much as they were testing him.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· A History of Scars·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“So, Mischief, you think the Winter Soldier has what it takes to keep me safe enough for whatever long game you have running?”  
  


Tony keeps plating the various containers of take-out without looking up, he can hear that Loki and Yasha are both working on the vegetables for the salad, and he can also hear Yasha huff at him for using his old moniker.  
  


“Like you said yourself, safer than most, and your own skill has clearly improved, I would like to test it for myself though.”  
“And if I agree, will you tell me what this game of yours entails?”  
“Some of it, there are far too many threads, too many variables to give more than a broad outline.”  
“Meaning, you have a vision for where you want things to go, but to get your pieces to go where you need them to be you can't show your hand, or let them know what rules you are playing by.”  
  


The way Tony cuts through the veil of words makes Loki stop and put the knife down before turning to him.  
  


“You understand the need for playing a game of shadows and illusions do you not?”  
“I do. After all, I'm playing that very game myself with the Accords, the Rogues, even HYDRA. And I know that you understand that despite knowing this, it still makes it a lot harder for me to trust you.”  
“With all that has happened I would be most disappointed if it did not.”  
  


The fact that Loki seemed to understand, didn't fault Tony for not trusting, quite the opposite, was soothing and he should see a hint of approval in Yasha's eyes as well, it would seem Yasha's insane instincts were gradually reclassifying Loki as being less of a threat.  
Tony guessed the sparring match had a lot to do with that, there was something about fighting someone, even if just sparring, that gave a glimpse of who they truly were and Tony had a feeling he would have seen Loki differently during the invasion of he had exchanged more than a handful of words and a few blows with him.  
  


“God or not, betray him and I will find a way to end you.”  
“Oh, I have no doubt you would soldier, assuming Stark does not beat you to it.”  
“Ah, but we are so good at sharing when push comes to shove.”  
  


The fact that Yasha spoke English made Tony's thoughts derail a bit, he had been speaking mostly Russian lately only slipping a few words of English here and there and Tony had a feeling it was part of Yasha's path to figuring out who he was.  
As far as he could tell Russian was the Asset's native language, the English being secondary, drawn from the memories of being Bucky, there was a curious detail though, his English now was coloured by a Russian accent, no longer carrying traces of the Brooklyn drawl that had been there when he was channelling the memory fragments.  
It gave Tony the feeling that Yasha was starting to take the fragment and making them his own instead of wearing them like masks.  
All the other languages Yasha spoke came from the Russian group that had created him needing him to be able to blend in all over the world, and to work with handlers from other countries he would need to speak multiple languages as well, something that suited the current iteration of HYDRA just fine.  
  


“Aw, that's so sweet, but let's keep the threats at a minimum during dinner.”  
  


The glare paired with a crooked smile that Yasha levelled him with for that quip made Tony grin widely and toss one of the fortune cookies from the bag with Chinese take-out at him, then chuck another one at Loki who turned the small cookie over in his hand with a confused look.  
  


“Crack it open, see what the fates have in mind. Or well, what some poor, unimaginative, bastard cooked up for the latest batch of mass-produced, sugary, and all but useless, dessert.”  
  


Tony opens his own cookie but doesn't read the fortune, instead he watches as Loki takes his own cookie and breaks it open to retrieve the strip of paper and read it.  
There is a moment of silence, then Loki starts laughing.  
  


“Come on, what does it say?”  
“You are cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.”  
“That seems fitting.”  
  


The quote makes Tony snort before giving Yasha an expectant look.  
  


“To know oneself, one should assert oneself.”  
“That's pretty fitting as well.”  
“How about you, Stark?”  
  


Tony looks at his own slip of paper, does a double take, then nails Loki with a suspicious look.  
  


“Loki, did you mess with these?”  
“No.”  
 _“What's it saying?”  
_

Loki sounds puzzled, and Yasha is clearly concerned.  
  


“The only sure way to predict the future is to invent it yourself.”  
  


Tony reads his fortune out loud and silence falls, lingers in the kitchen area before Loki shrugs and makes his own fortune vanish in a flash of green.  
  


“It would not be the first time the Norns use mortal means to make their voices known.”  
“Wait, there really is such a thing as Norns?”  
“There is, they have many names, on Midgard they are usually known simply as the Fates, while those of Midgard who had contact with Asgard before Odin's withdrawal would know them as we do, the Norns.”  
“Figures...”  
  


Tony had never believed in destiny, in fate, he didn't like the idea that all the horrors of the world were somehow supposed to happen.  
  


“Fate is not a fixed future, it is not what **will** be, it is what might be, what could be, and Destiny is merely one of many paths. The Norns can suggest, hint and nudge, they can be heavy handed or nigh unseen, but they can never truly force, they are watchers, not makers.”  
  


For once Tony was at a loss of words, he didn't know if he should be worried, or happy, that Loki seemed to understand his distaste of the common concept of fate and destiny.  
  


“You, Stark, have already proven yourself able to build your own future.”  
“I guess I have...”  
“And you have created your own magic.”  
  


Tony didn't even notice that his hand had come up to shield the arc reactor from Loki's gaze until Yasha's hand joined his, sleek metal caging what had for a long time been his greatest weakness.  
  


“Magic?”  
“I can feel it, it is similar to the space stone, but different, all yours and definitely a form of magic.”  
“I hate magic.”  
  


Loki just laughed at the vehemence of Tony's words as he used magic to levitate the bread roll Tony had been reaching for over to him.  
  


“Ass...”  
  


The grumbled complaint didn't stop Tony from snatching the bread, and sharing it with Yasha to get the last bits of sauce from their plates before cleaning up after their meal.  
  


“Boss you really should try to get some sleep before sparring with Loki. It's been more than two days since you slept and Dr Cho did ask you to take it easy.”  
  


Friday interrupted them as they headed toward the elevator and the reminder instantly had Yasha in mother hen mode, agreeing with her that maybe it would be a good idea to get a nap, then spar when rested and much to Tony chagrin Loki agreed.  
  


“Alright, alright, man you guys don't play fair. Mischief, feel free to loiter around the penthouse while we head somewhere nice and safe for some sleep. Friday can show you somewhere to sleep if you feel like it.”  
  


Loki's reply wasn't translated by the allspeak, but he did explain that it was a very old, very formal, way of accepting hospitality, an oath not to abuse the trust of the host.  
  


Loki watched as Stark and Yasha entered the elevator and waited for the door to close before letting more of his magic, his awareness, expand through the penthouse, then carefully reach down through the tower.  
The oath he had sworn was more than he had admitted, he had essentially sworn to protect Stark's home and holdings as he would his own and to do that his magic needed to be more aware of the building.  
He could feel the bright energy of the reactor Stark had created as the elevator brought it down to the ground, for a moment it stopped, then there was a powerful surge of the same energy that made his senses itch.  
It didn't last very long though, the elevator clearly moved again, then the energy was suddenly completely gone, it would seem the place where Stark and Yasha felt safe was shielded, preventing anyone from detecting the energy of the reactor, and it was obvious Stark had more of them.  
He had noticed traces of the same energy coursing through the metal of Yasha's arm as well, giving it a flavour of Stark's personal brand of magic, something that Loki found himself very eager to study, but first, he would need to earn their trust.  
  


Figuring he might as well get some rest himself he reached out for Friday and soon he found himself looking into a sparsely furnished bedroom that seemed simple, but he could tell that everything inside was of the highest quality.  
The attached bathroom was small, but comfortable and before long he was comfortable spread across the large bed, carefully sifting through what he had learned, meticulously sorting through every little detail to see how it might affect his plans.  
He had a feeling that sparring with Stark would prove very interesting, Yasha was powerful and fought with the deadly grace of an apex predator, but from what he had seen watching the pair spar Stark was faster and more agile, it remained to be seen though if he had the strength to make his attacks count.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· A History of Scars·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“So, guys, what's your impressions of Loki?”  
  


The moment Tony's head hit the pillow he rolled over to look at Yasha and Friday would have rolled her eyes if she had any, but she did understand that they needed to talk about their guest, she just wish the stubborn pair would get some sleep first.  
  


 _“He's clearly extremely dangerous, but I don't feel like he's a threat. For now at least.”_  
“What about you Fri, what's your verdict?”  
“I agree with Yasha, Loki doesn't seem to be a threat right now.”  
“That's my take too. I really don't think he'll be a threat to us as long as we don't become one to him, or betray what trust he feels comfortable with giving us.”  
 _“You think he may prove to be a friend...”_  
  


There was concern, but no judgement in Yasha's voice and Tony felt an urge to explain himself.  
  


“Yeah, I do. I think he's a lot like us, he's been broken, betrayed, controlled, forced to do horrible things, and done some pretty nasty stuff of his own volition as well.”  
  


Loki had shared a bit of his own history while Tony explained what had happened and how they had ended up there and it was a familiar story, being raised, moulded and groomed into a useful tool, always compared to an unattainable ideal set high on a gilded pillar, always seeking approval but never being able to be good enough.  
Deemed unworthy of the truth, and cast aside once that truth crawled into the light as truths are wont to do.  
So, yeah, as far as Tony could see Loki was every bit as much a broken tool as he and Yasha were, and maybe, just maybe their broken edges could fit together without breaking further.  
And maybe, just maybe, Tony still had a thing for wanting to fix broken things, even if those things happened to be people, or in this case, insane alien mages...  
  


“ _One step at a time.”_  
  


When Yasha reaches out for him with soft words Tony leans into the cool touch of the metal hand, then turns and places a soft kiss against the sleek panel at the wrist.  
  


“One step at a time.”  
  


Tony agrees as he finds himself rolled over on his back with Yasha looming over him, eyes dark, but glowing faintly with the blue of whatever the bastardized version of the serum had done to him.  
In the moment between one heartbeat and the next those words come to mean something completely different, then all words vanish as Yasha steals his breath away.  
  


When Yasha finally pulls back they are both gasping for breath and Tony can feel the first hints of tension in Yasha's form, telling him that the memories are starting to act up, Tony doesn't resist as Yasha moves his arms, pinning them above his head with his right while placing his left over the reactor.  
  


“I trust you.”  
  


Tony maintains eye contact and offers a soft smile as metal fingers slowly slide up his chest to wrap around his throat, he knows the horrors Yasha is struggling with, he has seen the memories of what HYDRA forced him to do.  
Feeling the hand settle with a light pressure Tony nods and closes his eyes, the memories he has seen playing on the BARF screens are playing in his mind as well and he knows Yasha is trying to reconcile them with what he is feeling.  
They have tried numerous times within the BARF system to alter and process those memories, but Yasha always ends up bailing out, unable to deal with how HYDRA had used the triggers to force him to abuse others.  
The memories of how he had been abused himself had been fairly easy to deal with, usually by the memories being altered to him breaking the conditioning and triggers before they could do anything and killing the handlers and guards who had done it.  
  


“You won't hurt me.”  
  


Tony keeps talking, eyes closed and hyper aware of the raw power hovering above him, keeping him pinned down, and despite the pressure of the hand on his throat drawing a lot of his focus to his breathing most of it remains where his hips are pressed harshly into the bed by Yasha's weight.  
It was tough not to focus on the rather impressive bulge grinding against his own painfully hard erection, Yasha was a pretty damned big guy all around, but Tony forced himself to divert at least some of that focus to talking to Yasha, reassuring him.  
  


When Yasha moves to the side and starts trailing his hand back down Tony's chest and stomach he finds himself desperately chasing anything resembling coherent thought, the grip around his throat is gone, but his arms are still pinned above his head.  
The soft grip on his wrists and Yasha's leg over his own is enough to keep him in place as Yasha's left hand brushes over heated flesh before wrapping around him, giving a tentative stroke, and Tony curses softly to himself as the solid grip and sleek metal has him coming apart embarrassingly fast.  
While desperately chasing down his errant thoughts and trying to catch his breath Tony nudges Yasha to roll over on his back, trailing kisses along the scars on his shoulder before nipping along the edges of well defined muscle down his chest and stomach.  
Returning the favour Tony quickly finds that the fringe benefits of serum enhanced stamina and recovery definitely extends into the area of sexual performance, he's pretty sure his jaws will be aching for quite a while even with his own freshly enhanced status.  
It's an ache he finds himself savouring though, an ache that marks a new chapter in their journey, both of them able to get the other off without panic attacks or falls-backs on dubious coping mechanisms stopping them.  
  


Settling back down after a quick clean-up Tony finds his mind still blissfully blank as he curls into Yasha's side, seeking the now familiar comfort and heat and moments later sleep claims them both while Friday watches over them.  
  


Tony isn't sure what woke him up but once he does he really doesn't want to move, comfortably curled up with Yasha pressed against his back, but unfortunately it only took a few moments before Yasha stirred as well, probably alerted by the increase in Tony's pulse and breathing.  
  


“Fri, how long did we sleep?”  
“Almost six hours Boss.”  
“And our guest?”  
“He slept for about four hours and is now perusing the books in the study. He seems to have taken a particular interest in your collection of flora manuscript reproductions.”  
  


The nearest screen comes to life with the security feeds from the study and the sight gives Tony pause, Loki is standing in front of the lectern that serves as a stand for the largest of the illuminated manuscript reproductions.  
He appears to be carefully reading the text while running a finger across the hand painted, gilded, illustration of a white moth orchid, though, even from the angle of the camera Tony can tell he's not actually touching the paper, just tracing the image in the air, finger alight with a swirl of green and gold.  
There is something reverent over the scene that makes Tony feel like an interloper, he couldn't even remember why he had those manuscripts commissioned in the first place, but right now he was happy he had.  
  


“Fri, cut the feed in the study, monitor but don't record unless he does something that seems suspicious. And delete all current recordings of him in the study.”  
“Boss?”  
“I don't know why, but that there, I don't feel like it's something we, or anyone, should be seeing unless invited.”  
“If you say so Boss.”  
  


The feed cut out and after a moment a confirmation prompt flashed on the screen and with a simple thought Tony reached out for the flowing code behind it and confirmed the action.  
  


“Smoothie?”  
  


The soft question was paired with a hint of a smile that Tony couldn't place, but it definitely did all kinds of delicious things to him, as always Yasha's sheer power gave him an edge of danger that Tony was acutely aware of, even if he didn't fear it, but the smile turned it into something else  
  


“Please.”  
 _“Anything in particular?”_  
“How about that coconut milk, berries and chia one?”  
  


Yasha just gave him a nod and started rummaging through the small kitchen to get everything needed while Tony pulled on some suitable sparring clothes and did a quick check with Friday to see if anything had happened while they slept that needed dealing with.  
With nothing that needed his personal attention it didn't take long before Tony found himself in the elevator with a smoothie in his hand and Yasha's arm around his shoulders, clearly picking up on his slightly nervous mood.  
  


“I hope I can manage this sparring session without embarrassing myself too much...”  
“Loki's obviously an experienced fighter with a keen eye. I think he can recognize your potential, and see the flaws for what they are, a lack of experience, not skill.”  
  


Yasha disliked the way Tony would still slip into putting himself down, blaming himself for every perceived weakness and flaw, pushing and punishing himself for even the slight hint of anything less than unattainable perfection.  
It was happening less and less though, Tony was finally starting to accept himself, accept that it was okay to be broken and flawed, Yasha heard him speak the words often enough, but to truly accept them for himself, that was something else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This universe is not compliant with T3, no Hela, no fall of Asgard, Loki rules under the guise of Odin, and Thor has gone missing while looking for information about Thanos and the infinity stones.


	9. Common Ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As expected Loki decided to derail things a bit and this chapter went in a completely different direction than originally intended.
> 
> There's a brief mention of past rape/non-con elements, no details as well as some mentions of kinks including pain and breath-play in the final section (after they return to the tower after kicking some HYDRA ass).

.·:*¨¨*:· Common Ground·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


When the elevator doors opened into the penthouse Tony and Yasha found Loki leaning against the wall next to the elevator, clearly waiting for them to arrive.  
  


“Come on, do you really have to be **that** eager to kick my ass?”  
  


Tony was still rather nervous about sparring with Loki, and nervous Tony did not know how to shut up, fortunately Loki didn't seem to mind exchanging quips and banter as a warm up and Tony could feel Yasha shaking with suppressed laughter against his back.  
It wasn't a very long ride back down to the gym though, Tony would never tolerate something as horrid as slow elevators in his tower, and he quickly made a beeline for the table where the training weapons were still laid out.  
He never got a chance to grab them though as Yasha's hand stopped him and nudged him to stand next to the table.  
  


“ _Let me...”_  
  


Yasha's soft tone sent a shiver down Tony's spine and the feeling of deft hands securing weapons and pieces of light, flexible armor over a few soft spots, was an odd mix of soothing and exhilarating.  
  


“Go show him that my котенок has claws.”  
  


With his senses tingling from Yasha's touch and a rush of anticipation Tony saunters of to the ring with a wide grin that might just be a tad manic and once he's standing face to face with Loki he offers a theatrical bow.  
  


“Let's dance.”  
  


Loki responds with a bow of his own, carrying himself with a fluidity that can only come with countless years of practice, the smile a perfect mask of polite hospitality, but the manic gleam in his eyes is alight with an edge of madness.  
Tony doesn't wait for an answer, doesn't wait for them both to straighten up, instead he lashes out with the blade in his hand and he can feel the brush of hair against his fingers Loki drops low to avoid the attack.  
A quick jump back allows Tony to avoid Loki's legs as he twists before flipping back to his feet, then the fight is on in earnest.  
  


Yasha watches the match with a critical eye, taking the opportunity to see where Tony may need some extra lessons, he always reviews their own matches together with Tony and Friday, but it's different to watch Tony against someone he's not familiar with.  
It doesn't take long to spot the signs that Loki isn't just testing Tony, but actively teaching, pushing Tony to adapt and adjust to increasingly advanced techniques, gradually adding more magic to it, making Tony glare and quip, but also adapt.  
He can feel the edge of concern he had been feeling fade away as well, Loki was no doubt as deadly as they got, but he wasn't triggering Yasha's instincts beyond the simple awareness of being in the presence of an apex predator.  
The feeling was that of a sated predator, one that was content with watching prey walk by and merely study it.  
  


“Sorry Lokes, I usually don't mind some heavy petting, but I'm kinda in a relationship right now.”  
  


Yasha tried to resist laughing at Tony's taunt but he couldn't fully suppress it, it would seem Loki was holding back a bit too much, riling Tony up, he hated it when people treated him as something fragile.  
It was yet another thing that Yasha found himself resenting Tony's former allies for, the way they had been treating Tony as if he was useless when not wielding Iron Man, it wasn't something Tony talked about much but Yasha had always been observant.  
His brain might have been, and still was, a bit too scrambled to always know what to do with the information, but he observed, collected details like precious stones, hoarded knowledge like a dragon hoarded treasure.  
He knew it was a trait he had possessed even before the serum, before the fall, something that had been a part of Bucky, had made him a highly skilled sniper, and it was something that had been eagerly honed during his time as the Winter Soldier.  
  


“Boss, you are supposed to be recuperating.”  
  


Tony and Loki had been at it for about an hour when Friday decided that they had enough fun for the time being and it only took a few moments for the pair to stand down, both breathing rather heavily, but it was obvious it was more from excitement than exertion.  
  


“Not too bad.”  
  


Yasha watches as Loki raises his hand to an already fading mark on his cheek, swiping at a few drops of blood.  
  


“For a mortal.”  
  


Tony just huffs out a laugh at Loki's dig before focusing on Yasha, and Yasha finds himself somewhat mesmerised by the amber glow of Extremis playing in the eyes that are locked to his own as Tony walks over, grabs his hair and pulls him down harshly to claim a hungry, dominating, kiss.  
  


Tony allows the familiarity of the kiss to calm him, bring him down from the high, but turning to Loki he finds himself being scrutinised and can't place the look on Loki's face.  
  


“You got a problem with two guys getting it on?”  
  


He doesn't even try to keep the chill from his voice, Thor has never mentioned anything about Asgard views on sexuality so it might be an issue.  
  


“Not at all, it is common for shield-brothers to share a bed, and comforts, after battle to relax and strengthen bonds. And your bonds clearly go beyond those of shield-brothers.”  
“Good, no bigots allowed here.”  
“I have been known to keep myself with bedmates of all kinds, and as a shapeshifter, not always as what you would perceive as male myself.”  
“Now that sounds like fun.”  
“It is one of life's more pleasurable pursuits.”  
  


There is something about the slight sigh at the end that gives Tony pause.  
  


“I guess you don't get much opportunity for the fun stuff while pretending to be Odin huh?”  
“Oh there are plenty who would gladly _console_ the Widower King of Asgard, but I would not disgrace Mother's memory in such a way.”  
  


Tony realised it was another thing they had in common, beloved mothers and asshole fathers, and based on what they had seen of some of the memory fragments Yasha was carrying that had been true for Bucky as well.  
  


“You know, if you feel inclined... No one would bat an eye at Tony Stark hiring a fancy escort for an out of town friend...”  
  


There is no doubt in Tony's mind that Loki is seriously considering the offer, and the way Yasha's hand stills on his hip tells him that Yasha has noticed as well.  
  


“A generous offer, but not something I can accept, it would be far too much of a risk.”  
“Alright, but the offer is still there if you change your mind.”  
  


The only answer was a slight nod before Loki turned on his heel and headed toward the showers, leaving Tony and Yasha to remove Tony's weapons and gear, and to consider their guest.  
  


“ _He's a lot like you...”_  
  


Being so openly compared to Loki by one of the few people he trusted, that knew him, threw Tony off for a moment, but he found himself unable to argue against Yasha's observation.  
  


“Yeah, a lot more than I'd like to admit...”  
  


Tony slowly follows Loki to the showers, Yasha at his back, thoughts wrapped up in yet another similarity and he realizes that he could just as easily have fallen down a dark path after everything he had been through.  
He had been standing at the precipice overlooking his very own abyss for a very long time, one bad break away from falling into the darkness.  
The thoughts were always there, a desire to just say _Fuck this!_ to the world and embrace his dark side, he had heard it more than once that he was just one muddled line away from being a villain himself.  
The difference between him and Loki is that every time he had been about to fall, about to step off that ledge there had been someone there to pull him back.  
A quick glance toward the door confirms Yasha's presence, leaning against the wall in a seemingly casual manner, standing guard, and Tony realizes that if he was to take that step now, Yasha wouldn't hesitate to just follow into the night instead, take on the world at his side.  
  


“I find myself quite impressed with how well you adapt your fighting depending on the style of your opponent.”  
  


Loki's words bring Tony back to the present and shifts his focus away from staring into the abyss.  
  


“High praise coming from you.”  
  


There's a slight edge to Tony's words, he was far too accustomed to empty praise, to people trying to flatter him and gain his favour, and with everything that had happened he defaulted to distrust and snapping.  
  


“An honest assessment. You lack experience with this kind of fighting, but you are quite adept at thinking on your feet and you are a fast learner, by the end of that match you were using my own techniques against me, quite well I might add.”  
“If you say so.”  
  


Loki didn't respond to the somewhat sharp retort, instead he just looked at Tony, giving him a look that was far too sharp, too knowing, making Tony want to squirm as it made him feel oddly exposed, as if Loki was looking straight past every mask, every wall.  
It only lasts for a moment before Loki seems to find what he's looking for and gives a slight nod before looking away and ignoring Tony in favour for pouring some of the oil from his bottle and working it into his hair.  
  


“What is that stuff?”  
  


Tony's curiosity gets the better of him as he leans over to get a better look at the bottle.  
  


“It is a bathing oil from Vanaheim.”  
  


Tony can't help the slight surprise when Loki offers him the bottle, but as curious as he is he just can't make himself accept it from Loki's hand, but he does note that the resistance is less than he had expected, less compelling than with most.  
The way Loki's eyes narrow as Tony's hand pulls back and curls protectively against his chest is unsettling, but the look almost instantly clears into understanding and Loki places the bottle on the wall that separates the showers before giving Tony a nod of permission.  
  


“You do not like to be handed things, at least not by those you do not fully trust.”  
  


Tony wasn't the least bit surprised that Loki had caught on with ease, quickly drawing the correct conclusion from his reactions.  
  


“Been handed far too many things that have ended up hurting either me, those I care for, or a lot of innocent people.”  
“You have my word, this will do no harm.”  
  


The soft reassurance is surprisingly effective and Tony can feel the lingering suspicion and worry fade as he carefully picks the bottle up and starts inspecting it, gently running a finger along the clear surface.  
It feels a bit like glass but the weight is unfamiliar, he can't really tell if it's the bottle or the viscous liquid that gives it the surprisingly solid weight.

“Vanir crystalworks are as tough as your diamonds, it will not break from being handled.”

Tony just nods with a soft hum, completely focused on the curiosity in his hands, it may not not be tech, but it was alien and therefore a mystery to unravel.  
The liquid inside is a rich lavender colour and has an odd shimmering quality to it, as if someone has added fine gold glitter.  
Tilting the bottle Tony studies the way the liquid flows, Loki had called it an oil, but the viscosity made it look more like one of those fancy blossom honeys, it didn't seem to be sticking to the inside of the bottle though.  
Curiosity nearly gets the better of him as he touches the sealed stopper, but he manages to halt himself and give Loki a quick glance, silently asking permission to open the bottle, and a slight nod grants it.  
He catches a faint whiff if a scent that is completely alien, and somehow utterly and totally Loki, leaning in he breathes it in, closing his eyes to focus on the scent and his breath catches as images flicker through his mind.

“What is it showing you? What is the calm at the centre of your soul?”

Tony's odd reaction instantly has Yasha on edge, moving closer, but Loki had obviously been prepared for some kind of reaction, raising his hands in a placating motion and shaking his head, indicating that Tony should not be touched at the moment.  
Tony doesn't seem distressed so Yasha moves closer, but doesn't touch.

“A forest...”

Tony's voice sounds distant but Loki doesn't seem concerned, quite the opposite and since Tony's pulse has calmed Yasha settles for maintaining his silent vigil.

“What kind of forest, what does it look like?”  
“Old, lots of moss, the trees are large and gnarled.”  
“Anything else?”

Loki gently prods for more details, whatever is happening to Tony clearly has some deeper significance and Loki seems to know how to deal with it.

“It's dark, foggy, light filtering down between the trees, the colour is odd, must be moonlight...”

Yasha tenses as Loki reaches out and wraps his hands around Tony's, keeping the bottle steady under his nose.

“Keep breathing through your nose, focus on the images, look around, tell me what you see.”  
“A stream, it's glowing, must be some kind of bioluminescent plankton or algae.”

Yasha watches and listens as Tony's voice gradually becomes more certain, sounding more like himself, observant and scientific.  
They spend well over 10 minutes listening to Tony describe impossible sights before Loki gently takes the bottle from his hands and closes it.

“What the fuck just happened?”

Loki waits patiently while Yasha helps Stark calm down, while it wasn't unexpected that Stark would respond to the magic of the Vanir oils he hadn't expected such a powerful reaction.

“You had an unusually strong reaction to the magic in the oils, allowing you to see across Yggdrasil, to see a place within the Nine where your soul and mind can be at rest.”  
“You telling me that place I was seeing is real?”  
“You described the ancient night-forest of Svartalfheim. The realm is long since dead, but there are tales from before the Aether wars that describe it as a realm of great beauty despite its eternal darkness. ”  
“How is it even possible for me to see something like that?”  
“I have a few theories, but it will require further studies to be certain...”

Loki found himself wishing his mother was there, she would have known, her experience, her sight, would have allowed her to sort through the possibilities and find the correct one.

“We are so having words about this.”

Loki just bowed his head slightly in acceptance of the demand before retrieving the bottle and sending it back into the pocket dimension his magic connected him to.

.·:*¨¨*:· Common Ground·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Come on Princess, make yourself comfortable. I have a feeling this is gonna be one of those long conversations.”  
  


Tony made himself comfortable on the large, round, sofa, curling into Yasha's side and indicated toward the open area across from them, he wasn't sure if Loki would accept it though as there wasn't all that much space.

Loki's first instinct was to refuse the offered seat and find something more dignified, the offered location would force him to sit between Stark and Yasha's feet, and would put his own feet between the pair, but despite his first inclination Loki finds himself walking toward the offered spot, drawn in by how comforting it looks.  
Casual, friendly closeness was not a luxury Loki had been awarded in a very long time, even before his true nature had been revealed to him it had been a rare treat, not many would dare approach the Dark Prince of Asgard unless they sought a way to approach the Golden Prince through him.  
The thought of life in Thor's shadow almost made him sneer, but instead he caught a glint of something familiar in Stark's eye, the fear of rejection, of not being good enough, of not being able to give enough.

It was obvious that Yasha had picked up on it as well as he leaned in and trailed kisses along Stark's jaw in a gentle gesture that presented a stark contrast to the raw edge of danger and death that radiated off the assassin.  
Loki gave himself the luxury of a silent sigh, and cursed his own curiosity as he took the offered seat, thought not quite in the intended way, rather than sitting straight across from the pair he carefully watched their reactions as he draped himself across the space in a deceptively lazy manner, placing his legs across theirs.  
He was slightly surprised when neither of them showed any sign of objection, instead they shifted around a bit, Yasha shifting his position slightly to carry more of the weight while still maintaining an equal level of contact with Stark, then settled down.  
Loki caught a slight glance from Stark as the man's hand hovered slightly in the air above his legs, a hint of uncertainty in them that faded into something content when Loki didn't object to the hands being placed on his legs.

“As you know your _Earth_ is known as Midgard among the other realms, this is not without reason. Midgard is at the centre of the Nine, the juncture through which all of Yggdrasil can be accessed.”  
“Yggdrasil, as in the world tree? The giant Ash tree with the Nine worlds in its branches and roots?”

Tony may have done some reading up on the Norse myths after coming face to face with some of the members of its pantheon, though, many of them were rather ridiculous, as all religion tended to be.  
It reminded him that some day he just had to ask Loki about the stories about him having children, especially the horse story, but that would have to wait.

“That is how the ancient people of Midgard described it. In reality Yggdrasil is more of an energy current through space and dimensions that links the Nine together. A current that can be traversed if one knows how.”  
“The Bifrost.”  
“Yes, the Bifrost taps into that energy stream to allow almost instant travel between the realms.”  
“You clearly don't need it to travel though...”  
“There are places across the realms where the veil between dimensions is thin, places where the branches of Yggdrasil can be accessed, and permit travel without the use of forceful methods such as the Bifrost.”  
“And one of those just happen to be on my balcony?”

Stark's annoyed question makes Loki smile.

“It is not a natural one. Between the portal created here during what you refer to as the battle of New Your and the fact that your tower is replete with an energy very similar to that of the space stone I have been able to manipulate one of the passages to connect here instead.”  
“Alright. So we are in the middle of it all?”  
“You are, like the hub of a wheel with spokes connecting to the others.”  
“I'm starting to have a very bad feeling about where this is going...”  
“Please, go ahead, what conclusions does that mind of yours draw?”

Loki found himself very curious to hear what deductions Stark had come to with so little information, eager to see if he was anywhere close to the truth.

“Earth, Midgard, isn't just in the middle of the Nine, it's up front. And the only quick way for an army to get to the others. A foothold here would give an invading army a staging ground with easy access to the others...”

It would seem he had once again underestimated Stark, it was becoming a somewhat troublesome habit.

“Indeed, that is one of the reasons why Midgard is under such threat, but it is also its greatest hope.”  
“Not because anyone gives a crap about some 7 billion humans, but because the others can't risk having the enemy set up shop here.”  
“Harsh, but accurate.”  
“Let me guess, your plan is to convince the other realms to pool their resources and fortify Earth, make a stand here.”  
“Yes. It is high time that Midgard is brought into the fold.”  
“And you're hoping I'll be able to bridge the issue of getting several different alien technologies to integrate and function together.”  
“Your mind is unusually fluid, not locked into the rigid restraints of perception. Like a child who has yet to be taught the difference between reality and imagination, yet to be forced to adhere to the concept of impossible.”  
“Well, fuck me...”

The deadpan delivery made Loki snort in amusement, he had been curious about the impetuous human since their first meeting, and looking back after his mind had been freed from Thanos' influence, he had found the brash courage to be quite amusing.

“ _There's no way that would be doable as Earth is now, too many factions squabbling for power. If one country got access to alien tech the others would consider it a threat. And some would eagerly seek to monopolize it to gain power.”_

Yasha didn't hesitate to point out the rather glaring issue with the path Loki wanted to take.

“Not just countries, imagine what groups like HYDRA, AIM or the Ten Rings, hell, what fucking SHIELD or the WSC would be willing to do to control alien weapons capable of stopping an invading, alien, army.”

Tony continued the line of reasoning, making Loki frown slightly.

“Midgard is truly so deeply fractured that it would be unable to accept assistance in rising against an outside threat?”  
 _“It is.”_  
“Getting HYDRA out of the way would probably help a lot. They actively work to keep the world apart to further their own agenda, the last thing they want is a unified world, at least not until they are in a position to be the controlling force.”  
 _“There is also the matter of xenophobia, religious fanatics, and overall suspicious bastards who would accuse any outside helpers of trying to build a foothold for an invasion themselves...”_

The sight of Loki sighing deeply before dropping his head into his hands in what looks suspiciously like a very frustrated double face-palm followed by hair pulling had Tony blinking owlishly at him, then breaking down laughing.  
The scowl that Loki levelled him with really didn't help much and it took a while before Tony was able to collect himself enough to speak.

“Yeah, welcome to my life, dealing with humans in general can be a serious pain in the ass, unfortunately they tend to be pretty damned stupid critters for the most part... And don't get me started on politicians, greedy fuckers the lot of them, money, power, or both.”

Tony really hadn't intended to vent his frustrations, but with everything that had been going on ever since the SHIELDRA reveal he just couldn't stop himself, he reached a breaking point and Loki ended up getting an earful of ranting and raving about everything that was wrong with the world.  
Feeling cool fingers wrap around his ankle startled Tony into silence and he stared at Loki who was brushing his thumb along the inside of his ankle, the almost cold hand gave a distinct contrast to the heat radiating off Yasha at his side.

“Calm yourself Stark, I am not familiar enough with Midgard customs and politics to keep up.”  
“Ah... Damn... I totally ranted your ears off, didn't I?”  
“Somewhat. What little made sense was quite interesting though.”

Tony could feel Yasha's silent laughter at the situation and did his best to jab him with his elbow for all the good that did against the brick wall created by the serum, Yasha's retaliation was a bit more effective, leaving Tony gasping for air between cries of laughter as he was mercilessly tickled.

Loki just waited in silence, observing the pair, noting that Stark was clearly suffering the somewhat peculiar madness that was so common among the brightest minds, but Yasha seemed quite capable of bringing the wandering mind back to focus.

Once the scuffle ended Tony quickly crawled into Yasha's lap, then dropped his feet into Loki's lap, earning him a raised eyebrow, then cool hands on his ankles.

“How about you explain how alien bath products made me hallucinate while I try to sort out those ramblings?”  
“Not a hallucination, a vision.”  
“Same question, how?”  
“There is magic in it, magic intended to connect a mage to their core, the source of their power, being connected to the origin of one's power is soothing, balancing, allows for a calmer mind and better control.”  
“But I'm not a mage...”  
“No, you're not, not yet at least. But there is magic in you, you are connected to Yggdrasil.”  
“How?”  
“I am unsure, it could be your exposure to two of the infinity stones, it could be the energy from your reactor that is so similar to that of the space stone, it could be your exposure to Yggdrasil as you crossed the portal, it could be your repeated brushes with death.”  
“Or any combination of those... Or something completely different...”  
“Indeed.”  
“I hate magic...”

Loki's soft chuckle and knowing look just made Tony huff at him, then throw one of the small, decorative, pillows at his face, only for it to be halted mid air by tendrils of green.

“Just imagine the things you would be able to create if you mastered magic, how you could bend and combine the very fabric of the universe with your technology.”

Loki paid careful attention to Stark's reactions as he spoke, taking note of the slight hitch in his breath and the way his pupils blew wide for a moment as he realised the implications of the words.  
There was something in the glint of Stark's eyes that told Loki that it was the thinly veiled promise of knowledge that had sparked the reaction, not the immense power that such knowledge could bring.

“So you think I could learn magic?”  
“Magic as such cannot be learned, either you have it, or you do not, what is learned is how to control it, wield it, how to bend it to your will. What rules apply, which ones can be bent, which ones can be broken, and which ones must be upheld.”  
“Sounds tedious...”  
“It is, but well worth it.”  
“Yeah, knowledge usually is.”

Loki paused for a moment, considering the various options before him and after a quick deliberation with himself he picked a path to follow.

“On the topic of knowledge, I would very much like to see if Yasha has a reaction to the magic.”

He quickly turned to the assassin.

“If you agree of course.”  
 _“It could provide vital intelligence.”_  
“Indeed it could.”

The way Yasha would respond almost like an automaton to certain topics was unsettling, but Loki could definitely understand the need for rituals and coping mechanisms to deal with the kind of trauma left from being forced to be someone's puppet, from having your mind and agency taken away.  
Yasha's case was far worse than his own in some ways, the way Thanos had used the mind-stone to manipulate priorities, twist intent, and dug deep into recent trauma, had left Loki with most of his agency intact, just twisted to suit Thanos' desires.  
Yasha on the other hand from what Loki had understood of his story had been left with nearly no agency at all, only able to make decisions within the parameters of his current assignment, no true free will.  
With Yasha agreeing to test his reaction Loki quickly brought the bottle out and handed it to Yasha, who gave it to Stark.

“ _I might react pretty badly, even violently...”_

There was something in the voice that gave Loki pause, a frailty and concern, it only took a moment to realise that Yasha was afraid he would lash out and harm Stark.

“The trigger?”  
“Please...”

Yasha knows how much Tony hates those triggers, even after they had been modified, but he just couldn't face something so far out of his experience without some extra safety, being in the new triggered state would at least keep him from lashing out against Tony.

“Okay.”

Loki watched as Stark leaned in and whispered into Yasha's ear, picking up what seemed to be a sequence of random words and once ten words had been spoken Yasha went rigid for a moment and mumbled _Protect_ , before relaxing.

“Alright, let's do this while the trigger is still fresh.”

Tony held out the bottle and instructed Yasha to take a deep breath through his nose and keep breathing through his nose, a few moments later his eyes turned a brilliant blue.

“What is happening?”

The reaction confused Loki, he had never seen anything like it before, the blue however made him shiver, bringing to mind the effect of the sceptre.

“It's the serum, reacting to whatever chemicals this stuff is releasing. It acts like a secondary immune system, jacking up all the normal responses to deal with drugs, infection and other chemical or biological threats.”

Loki didn't get a chance to respond before Yasha went rigid again, shifting his position to kneel with his hands behind his back. _  
_

“ _The Asset is experiencing a reaction to an unknown substance, possible memory malfunction. Visual input overridden, the Asset appears to be observing an unknown location.”_

Tony sighed slightly, then took a deep breath to steel himself before putting on the mask he had created for acting as the Winter Soldier's handler, when he was so deep into the conditioning that he referred to himself as the Asset it was the only thing he responded to.

“Asset, provide detailed report on unknown location.”

The detached voice made the words sound haunting as Yasha described a forest shrouded in near impenetrable mist, obsidian mountains reflecting the northern lights above, and a giant ship anchored in a distant bay.

“That's Niflheim, isn't it? Complete with Helheim and Naglfar...”

Tony closed the bottle as he glanced at Loki for confirmation and he received a simple nod before Loki spoke up.

“It makes sense that someone with Yasha's background would be connected to the land of the dead, and not just from the deaths at his hands. The cold sleep used to aid in preserving him is as close to death as a mortal can be without actually dying.”

With the bottle closed up it didn't take long for Yasha to snap back to them with a shuddering breath, but it took a good 10 minutes for Tony to help him calm down enough to be able to shake off the triggers and return from combat mode.

“ _So I possess magic as well?”_  
“At least enough to connect you to Yggdrasil, but you are not born with it, which I believe Stark is.”  
 _“But how then?”  
_ “I think I have a few ideas.”

Tony interrupted before Loki could answer and quickly started rattling off the things he could think of that might have given Yasha a touch of magic.

“We barely know anything about the serum, or what they exposed you to in order to activate it since they didn't have access to Erskine's Vita-ray machine. We know the Tesseract was in HYDRA possession when they experimented on you the first time, so they might have tried to use that. They used the sceptre to alter the Maximoff twins and tried to use the witch's power to control you, possibly tried using the sceptre directly as well.”  
 _“And my new arm is powered by Arc-tech...”_  
“That too...”

Loki shook his head at the sheer scope of what a pair of mortals had managed to get themselves exposed to in such a short span of time, even Yasha's 100 years was nothing compared to his own collection of centuries, or the millennia that was the usual lifespan of the other races of the Nine.

“Hey, Lokes, what does that stuff show **you**?”

The question threw Loki off for a moment, but he quickly regained himself, he should have expected such inquiries from Stark.  
The true surprise was the lack of recoil from the question, he actually found himself wanting to answer it, wanting to see how Stark would react, there was no escaping the tight coil of fear as he spoke up though.

“Muspelheim. A Prince of Asgard, born from the two great enemies of the Realm Eternal. Body born of Jötunheim, and magic born of Muspelheim. Such a juicy scandal had it ever come to light.”  
“Fire and Ice, sounds explosive, a perfect recipe for chaos.”

A startled laugh had Tony and Yasha both staring at Loki with a certain level of concern.

“Hey, you okay Mischief? You're starting to look a bit more insane than usual over there.”  
“Oh this entire thing is pure insanity, I am insane, you are insane, we are all insane.”  
“If you say so Maleficent.”

Tony settled back against Yasha and watched in silence as Loki laughed and ranted in some language that clearly wasn't covered by whatever magic made the Allspeak work, and if the differences in inflection and melody of the words were any indication, it was more than one language.  
The feeling that Tony got was that Loki was essentially cursing in every language he knew, all while still laughing like a madman.  
The manic energy snapped off as suddenly as it had started and Loki's eyes narrowed on Tony.

“You have no idea what horrors those realms hold, do you?”  
“I've heard enough from Thor to know they're supposed to be the big bad enemy, the monsters under the bed, the things that go bump in the night, the horrors parents threaten their children with to get them to clean their rooms.”  
“The...”  
“Shush, I'm not done yet.”  
“...”

Loki fell silent from pure surprise when Tony interrupted him by poking him in the chest with his foot.

“I call bullshit on it. That's just stories to justify war, vilifying the enemy and glorify their own actions, stories spread to justify continued oppression of a fallen opponent. Humans do the same all the time, the US did it to Russia during the cold war, still do. History is written by the winners and all that crap.”

Loki just blinked at the vehemence of Tony's words.

“How much do you actually know about them, first hand? Have you met any of them outside of a situation where everyone has gone in with preconceptions expecting a fight? Have you considered what a decimating war followed by decades of oppression would do to a culture? How it would form a bias against the oppressors, make the victims lash out?”  
“I...”

Loki cut his own answer off, he didn't want to consider what Stark was telling him, but there were memories nagging in the back of his mind, images of Frigga while Odin, the tutors, the Einherjar, and the other warriors told stories of the Jötnar, stories about the fire-jötnar of Muspelheim and the ice-jötnar of Jötunheim.  
There had always been a tightness to her expression during those stories, especially when they spoke of Jötunheim, one Loki had believed to be distaste at the mere mention of such monsters, but in retrospect, she had always known what he was, the truth of his heritage.  
She had obeyed her husband and king to keep the secret, but sifting through the memories, turning the images over in his mind, looking at them from new angles Loki realized that her distaste may not have been for the topic, but the way Odin hid the truth and allowed him to be taught to hate his own people.  
Having the gift of sigh she probably had some idea what kind of path it could send him down, but was unable to prevent it, bound by oaths to Odin.

“I... I am loath to admit I have not considered such matters.”

Admitting that he hadn't even considered the points that Stark was making smarted, but if he was to be able to salvage his plans now that the Avengers had fallen through, Loki needed to try to build rapport with Stark and Yasha.  
All those lies and he hadn't considered challenging his own perceptions, it was somewhat humbling.

“You wanna keep talking, or take a break and mull on things?”  
“I believe it would be better to stop for now, you have given me a lot to think about, and some things I may need to reconsider before we continue.”  
“Alright, feel free to keep using the penthouse if you wanna stick around on Earth, Fri can order groceries or take out for you and she'll let you back in if you head out.”  
“Your continued hospitality is much appreciated.”

The words held an air of formality, something learnt by rote but Tony recognises them for what they are, a mask not unlike the one he wears himself at the various galas and fundraisers he attends, formal, polite, and usually eager to be back in the workshop.

“You wanna be alone with those thoughts?”  
“I am quite capable of thinking despite annoying company, after all, I grew up with Thor and the Idiots Three.”

The way Loki's hand tightened around his ankle told Tony what Loki's answer would be even before he spoke up, and the total little shit answer only made Tony smile as he nudged Yasha to move a bit so he could watch the large TV comfortably and had Friday put on a movie.

.·:*¨¨*:· Common Ground·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


They were about halfway through the second movie when Friday suddenly paused it to get their full attention.  
  


“Boss, we have a ping on one of the HYDRA electronic dead drops.”  
  


The instant shift in energy from lazy cuddling to razor sharp focus startled Loki out of his thoughts and he had a blade in his hand before he had even realized that there was no immediate threat.  
  


“Transfer tactical to this screen please.”  
  


The frozen frame of the movie was instantly replaced with a tactical map and several projections with aditional data appeared in the air next to the screen.  
  


“What do you have for us Fri?”  
“A low level HYDRA operative has requested emergency extraction for valuable cargo.”  
  


Tony looked at the highlighted area for the requested pickup and there was something about it that was scratching at the back of his mind.  
  


“Fri, cross reference known government and NGO research facilities, including blacklist locations.”  
“We have a hit Boss, there is a US government hazardous materials research facility less than 10 kilometres from the pickup zone.”  
“Anything that stands out?”  
“It was one of the facilities listed as a contractor in the clean up of the Battle of New York.”  
“So chances are that the valuable cargo is some alien crap.”  
“Highly probable.”  
  


Tony sighed deeply, so much for spending a lazy day cuddling with his favourite assassin.  
  


“Alright, mission time, prep the jet.”  
“On it Boss.”  
  


Yasha was already heading toward the elevator door, the blue growing more prominent in his eyes and Tony closed the displays with a wave of his hand before getting up to follow.  
  


“May I join you? I wouldn't mind a chance to observe you in action.”  
  


Tony gave Loki a quick glance.  
  


“Can you change into something a bit more inconspicuous?”  
“Naturally.”  
  


Tony watched as the image of Loki bled away and was replaced by your standard SHIELD grunt model C-tall, wearing the nondescript black tactical gear that was standard for the STRIKE teams, the only thing standing out was the lack of weapons, something that was easily rectified by a visit to the armoury.  
When the helmet and goggles were removed Tony found himself looking at a face that could have come straight off one of the electrostatic veils, average, boring, noting that would stick in anyone's memory, even the neatly cropped ratty blonde hair was utterly unremarkable.  
Even the blue of the eyes managed to look utterly boring, all in all, a person no one would remember well enough to properly describe as anything other than a Blonde dude in tac gear, and no one would really think twice about them.  
  


“Yeah, that'll definitely do, perfectly forgettable.”  
“Being forgettable helps when causing mischief.”  
“I bet. We need to tack some weapons on there though. You know how to handle firearms?”  
“Well enough to not draw suspicion.”  
“Okay, come along then.”  
  


Once inside the elevator Tony turned to ask Loki how come he had learned to handle human weapons, but Loki began speaking before he had a chance to.  
  


“The sceptre didn't just allow me control, it also transferred a significant amount of knowledge, including things like weapons training. Even the control the titan had over me did nothing to subdue my thirst for knowledge and skills, so I drank deeply, and had some of the soldiers under my control instruct me while waiting for all the pieces to move into place.”  
“So, between your brain and that crazy alien physique it would be safe to assume you are a pretty decent shot then?”  
“Probably nowhere near as skilled your assassin, or even yourself, for lack of practice, but decent enough to hold my own.”  
“Good, we don't know much about what we're heading into and we can't wait.”  
“My objective is to observe, but I will act if needed..”  
  


When the elevator door opened onto the floor that housed the armoury and mission room Tony made a quick beeline for the mission prep room they had set up and Loki followed closely behind.  
  


The moment Loki stepped into the room where Stark had led him he found himself staring down the barrel of a rather impressive looking rifle and following it up to it's wielder revealed twin shards of ice alight with a blue glow.  
  


“It's okay Yasha, it's just Loki, he'll be tagging along as an observer.”  
 _“He will need weapons or he will stand out.”_  
“I know. I just need to suit up.”  
  


Yasha was crazy good at getting into his gear fast, but Tony only needed to change into the tight fitting undersuit so he was already showing Loki a few options for weapons when Yasha joined them to grab some extra ammunition for his own weapons.  
  


“ _Take these. Your blades look too unusual, they would draw attention.”_  
  


Tony raised an eyebrow when Yasha handed Loki the prototypes for his own swords, they didn't have the vibranium edge, but they were still some pretty amazing weapons, and Yasha tended to be rather possessive of them despite never using them on missions.  
Loki seemed to be aware of the significance of being allowed to use them as he ran his hands over them with a reverent expression before accepting them with a bow.  
  


“Here, lemme show you how to strap them on.”  
  


Tony grabbed one of Yasha's spare back straps and helped Loki adjust it and snap the modified scabbards in place so they wouldn't interfere with the other weapons he was now carrying, and would be easy to draw if needed.  
  


“Thank you.”  
  


They watched as Loki drew and holstered the various weapons a few times to get a feel for their placement, and Yasha did step over to adjust a few straps and holsters before he was satisfied that Loki wouldn't be making any noise due to his gear shifting.  
Tony was slightly surprised at how easily Loki accepted being pushed and pulled at, but perhaps it was something he was used to from life as a prince, he just didn't strike Tony as the kind of person who would accept having others do such tasks for him.  
Then again, it was faster than having them explain how to do it.  
  


“Boss, the Wraith is loaded and the Quinjet is ready for take off. Backup Eidolons 1 through 4 are also loaded and standing by.”  
 _“Acknowledged.”_  
“Alright, let's head out.”  
  


Loki can feel his senses buzzing with curiosity as he follows the pair into the elevator and he finds himself eager to watch how well they fight together.  
The waiting craft was surprisingly beautiful for a Midgardian craft, the lines far sleeker than the ones Loki had seen during his previous visit.  
  


“This one looks different from the one you used to pick me up in Stuttgart.”  
“Yeah, this is a Stark special based on the next generation airframe, only one of its kind.”  
“Of course it is.”  
“A beauty if I say so myself.”  
“It does have a certain aesthetic appeal that Midgardian crafts tend to lack.”  
  


The sudden appearance of what looks like a small metal dragon had Loki grabbing for a weapon, but the smile on Stark's face tells him it's not a threat.  
  


“That's the Eidolon, Fri's body during missions, she can also control the Wraith suit if needed.”  
“I see.”  
“While on these missions we are Team Phantom, I'm Wraith, Yasha is Ghost, and Fri is Eidolon. You should pick a call sign as well.”  
  


Loki considered the names they had picked for themselves and going with the pattern he picked the animal spirits that served the Norns.  
  


“Fylgja, it should match the theme of your names well enough not to arouse suspicion. ”  
“Alright, Fylgja it is.”  
  


Entering the craft Loki took a seat in one of the seats along the wall of the craft and after examining the various straps for a moment he secured himself in the seat and it was only moments later that a vibration and slight sway through the craft told him they had taken off.  
  


“ETA to target 2 minutes.”  
  


Loki had been watching Stark and Yasha during the short flight, both seemed almost too relaxed for someone heading out to battle, but all that changed as he watched Stark carefully secure a black muzzle over Yasha's face, it was as if a switch had been flicked.  
Yasha's energy instantly turned sharp and deadly, the chill of it almost made Loki shiver despite his nature, it would seem the muzzle carried some kind of symbolic meaning and he made a note to ask about it once they returned.  
Loki watched Stark go through a similar transformation as he stepped into the black armour, the usual whirlwind of emotions and energy settling into a tight coil, focused to an edge that could compete with the finest blade.  
It would seem Stark was far more of a warrior than he had given him credit for, that kind of focus was something many warriors struggled to achieve, and it gave rise to a deeper understanding for why Stark resented his former allies, they had never recognised his ability, never trusted him as a warrior.  
  


Loki watched as Stark and Yasha executed what as far as he could tell, was a perfect strike, it only took them moments to take out the target and take possession of the package, a metal crate roughly the size of a coffin.  
They quickly moved on to setting a trap for the HYDRA team sent to extract the operative and retrieve the package and Loki found himself hoping there would be a proper fight, the first part of the mission hadn't offered any resistance.  
  


Much to Loki's disappointment the second part of the mission didn't offer much resistance either, the 20 some armed men were quickly killed with ice cold efficiency, though Yasha did seem to take quite a bit of pleasure in taking down what appeared to be an enhanced individual.  
It did show him that the pair were effective in the field though, their actions smooth and well coordinated, and the way they moved and attacked enemies at each other's backs showed just how deep their trust ran, something that left a taint of envy along his senses.  
  


“What the?!”  
  


Loki startles somewhat and almost jumps out of the hidden craft when he sees Yasha grab Stark and slam him against one of the vehicles HYDRA had arrived in, making it rock noticeable despite its size and obvious weight.  
  


“Don't worry Fylgja, this is perfectly normal behaviour for them. Especially Ghost has some issues coming down from the high of a fight. Fighting hand to hand with an enhanced opponent will have aggravated the issue.”  
  


Loki heard Friday giving the pair an all clear and the moment she did Stark's armour opened up to allow Yasha to touch him.  
He found himself unable to take his eyes off what followed, and despite Friday's assurances he was a bit concerned about the roughness with which Yasha was handling Stark, he had seen how powerful the metal hand was, and it was currently wrapped around Stark's throat.  
The kisses looked downright brutal, but he could tell from the way Stark held on to Yasha's hair that he was actually pulling the assassin closer, not trying to fight him off.  
It took a few minutes before they broke apart and settled for just leaning against each other, forehead to forehead, slowly getting their breathing under control.  
  


Picking up the telltale scent of their release as they stepped back into the craft Loki offered them a knowing smile and a raised eyebrow.  
  


“What can I say, nothing like a good fight to get the juices flowing.”  
“Indeed, quite an enticing show, though, somewhat concerning at first.”  
  


The cocky grin and teasing quip sets the tone for the conversation as Loki engages Stark while Yasha gets them back into the air.  
Tony's mind isn't all in the conversation though, the rough kisses may be business as usual, but reaching the point of actually getting off, that wasn't, and to be completely honest, it had been a bit rougher than usual, and Tony was starting to have his suspicions as to the reason.  
  


“Yeah, sorry about that, should have given you a heads up about it.”  
  


Tony really needed to have a serious talk with Yasha as soon as they had a decent opportunity.  
  


“Nothing I haven't witnessed before. You were quite intense for mortals though.”  
  


Loki can see a hint of a blush as Stark turns around and focuses on their cargo for a moment, checking if there is any indication as to what it contains.  
  


“Yasha, I don't wanna bring this shit to the tower when we have no clue what's in it.”  
“Malibu?”  
“Yeah, that's probably the best bet, the workshop there is well equipped and it's reasonably out of the way. But we can't go straight there, make a nice big detour and plan for a late night arrival.”  
 _“Acknowledged.”_  
“I really should set up a safe location to bring crap like this to. Who knows what kind of stuff HYDRA has squirrel away...”  
 _“That would probably be a good idea.”_  
  


The teasing exchange forgotten Loki settles back to ponder the dynamic of the relationship between Stark and Yasha, back at the tower it had seemed like Stark was entirely dominant, but during the exchange that he had just witnessed Yasha was clearly the dominant one with Stark seemingly eager to submit.  
Loki silently cursed his own curiosity, there was no way he would be able to walk away from this puzzle on his own, and it would seem they had no intention of pushing him away either, it still remained to see if they would prove trustworthy though.  
They both seemed willing to invest in making an alliance work, and that willingness drew him in.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Common Ground·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


When they returned to the tower two days later Tony was restless and eager to pull Yasha down to the lair, leaving Loki to entertain himself in the penthouse.  
  


“Yasha, there's something I have been meaning to ask you...”  
“Hm?”  
  


For once Tony found himself somewhat hesitant to bring up the topic of sex, the last thing he wanted was to make Yasha uncomfortable or put any kind of pressure on him on the matter, even if only perceived.  
Fortunately Yasha was as patient as could be so he simply settled down and pulled Tony into his lap, waiting silently while Tony gathered his thoughts, and courage.  
  


“I can't help notice that after...”  
  


The words trailed off and Tony took hold of Yasha's hand and started trailing the edges of the fine plating to distract himself.  
  


“I...”  
  


He unconsciously started tapping the rhythm of his heartbeat against the sensitive plate on the inside of Yasha's wrist, a nervous tic he had developed after getting the reactor to help calm himself when his pulse raced and hammered against the metal of the housing.  
With the new, slimmer, housing it no longer hurt when his heart raced, but it was something new, and the tic remained, it might never go away.  
  


“Fucking timing to get tongue tied.”  
  


Yasha chuckled at the cursing and grumbling, but he didn't push for Tony to get to the point, instead he began brushing his flesh fingers through Tony's hair while waiting patiently.  
  


“This sex thing, have you been holding back 'cause of your memories, or 'cause you're worried about hurting me?”  
  


Tony can feel a slight blush from embarrassment as he blurts out the question like an idiot, but as Yasha tenses it's paired with the sinking ice of dread in his stomach as he worries he has pushed too far.  
  


“Both...”  
  


Tony almost sighed at the non answer, he knew it was probably a mix of both, but this time he needed more.  
  


“Please, can you give me more of an answer?”  
“...”  
“Please give me more, help me understand...”  
“...”  
  


The silence dragged on and Tony could feel his pulse pick up again, and the nanites alerted him to the changes in pulse and blood pressure as his nervousness started to edge toward a stress reaction.  
  


“Alright I won't push any more, won't ask again...”  
  


He desperately wanted to keep pushing, but he had promised both himself and Yasha that he wouldn't.  
  


“ _No, that's not...”_  
  


Yasha's arm tighten around him almost painfully, keeping him from moving away, keeping his attention focused.  
  


“ _Words are still hard sometimes...”_  
“I know...”  
  


The unspoken promise of answers does help Tony relax a bit, but he knows Yasha can tell just how tense he is.  
  


“You know how HYDRA used me, my body, the things they forced me to do. I remember, but I don't feel, it's like the fragments, they are there but there's no attachment, just images of the past.”  
  


The rapid cycling of the plates in the arm combined with the rigid posture tells Tony that Yasha is trying hard to stay calm and the heavily accented English is a sure sign that Yasha is struggling to dissociate himself from his own words.  
  


“A baseline human is so fragile when faced with my strength, you saw how much damage this body can do in a situation like that, how many that were outright killed by the force of the act. There was no order to kill, I had no desire to kill, it was just a loss of control.”  
“So you were afraid you'd lose control and hurt me if you let things get any further?”  
“Tried so hard, still hurt you, all those bruises. Almost dislocated your shoulder that time...”  
“Alright, hold it right there..”  
  


Tony swung around and straddled Yasha's legs so he could give him a solid glare.  
  


“The shoulder thing wasn't your fault, that was just shoddy construction work making the wall come down.”  
  


Yasha looked like he was about to object so Tony placed a finger over his mouth.  
  


“Shush.”  
“...”  
“As for the bruises, in case you've managed to miss it, I have quite a list of kinks, a pretty serious strength kink being one of them...”  
  


When Yasha manages to look utterly confused Tony can't help smiling widely, it would seem he may need to give the man an in depth sex-ed update.  
  


“It means I love being handled by someone who is stronger than me, and bruises are just reminders of that power, something I don't mind at all. Knowing how easily you could force me, hurt me, but don't, feeds into a few other kinks.”  
  


Tony's words came easy now, telling Yasha just how he fit every damned kink he had was freeing.  
  


“I know that you know exactly how much force you can use before bruising someone, I know the insane level of control you constantly exert over yourself to contain your strength, and the feeling of having affected you to the point where that control falters enough for you to leave bruises, it's empowering.”  
  


He can see the first flickers of understanding in Yasha's eyes and he can see his internal fight in the way the blue glow wanes and waxes before settling on a subtle but distinct glow as he raises his left to wrap around Tony's throat.  
  


“ _Trust...”_  
  


The single word trails off while the fingers tighten slowly, threatening to steal Tony's breath away.  
  


“I trust you.”  
 _“I think...”_  
  


Yasha's voice trails off once again and Tony can feel the fingers tightening again, stealing away enough of his breath for his vision to swim, enough to keep him from speaking, but leaving him with enough to keep from blacking out.  
Tony's awareness of the hand quickly fades as darkness creeps along the edges of his vision, narrowing everything down to the faint glow in eyes that manage to be both fire and ice at once, the only things that exists in his mind are those eyes, the heat of the body pressed against him, and the desperate, all engulfing need.  
The soft touch of the flesh hand helping him remove his clothes barely registers through the haze of need and the almost pain of the grip on his throat and the burn of his lungs demanding air that the metal of Yasha's fingers was denying him.  
  


“ _Mine...”_  
  


The possessive growl as Yasha pulls him closer and starts trailing kisses along his shoulder and chest sends another wave of heat down his belly, already achingly hard he desperately seeks more friction, but the strong hand on his hip keeps him in place.  
When the trail of soft kisses was replaced with a tentative brush of teeth Tony barely had enough breath for a shuddered _Yes_ , begging, demanding, giving permission, all in a single word.  
Tony was too far out his mind, too deep within himself, to notice how that single word stripped the tension from the body beneath him, and when teeth clamped down with a force that was just shy of drawing blood the dark edges around him exploded into blinding light and every thought burst into a static buzz, leaving nothing but pleasure in its wake.  
  


“Wow...”  
  


It takes quite a while before Tony can speak again, time that was well spent curled into Yasha's side.  
  


“ _Pain... You enjoy pain..?”_  
  


The obvious confusion just made Tony smile and trail kisses over the scars at the seam of the cybernetic arm, it was a struggle to keep awake though as the high of his release was fading.  
  


“Sometimes I do. The right amount, the right way, it focuses the senses, make the pleasure so much more intense. Same thing with surrendering control.”  
“I... Your trust...”  
“You enjoyed that I trust you to give me just the right pain without hurting me?”  
“I did...”  
“And did you enjoy giving me that pain? Enjoy having control of my very breath?”  
  


Tony had to know, as much as he enjoyed the occasional edge of pain, the surrender of control, he didn't want Yasha to do anything he didn't enjoy.  
  


“ _Yes.”_  
  


There was a moment of silence, then a soft _I liked it a lot_ , was whispered into Tony's hair as he drifted to sleep.  
  



	10. An Unholy Alliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm mixing Marvel lore with Norse mythology, and a few twists of my own, so don't expect stuff to be fully accurate to either.

.·:*¨¨*:· An Unholy Alliance·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Hunger is what finally wakes Tony up and after a quick check with Friday to see if Loki had eaten they decide to head up to the penthouse to see if their guest is up to sharing another meal.  
  


“Hey, Reindeer Games, feeling like whipping up some dinner?”  
  


Tony can't help laughing when Loki levels him with an utterly unimpressed look, apparently he was not in the mood for cooking.  
  


“Alright, how about turning into someone less conspicuous and hitting some fancy restaurant?”  
  


Stark's suggestion that Loki shapeshift threw him off for a moment, he was used to everyone around him either despising or fearing that ability, or both, he couldn't recall even one occasion where someone had so openly suggested he alter his appearance in such a way.  
It did fit with Stark's tendency to defy expectations though, but old scars run deep and Loki was fully prepared for the reactions to be negative, and the mere memory of previous reactions made him push, reaching for a form he believed most likely to cause a negative reaction.  
  


Tony finds himself staring as Loki's form shimmers and his features start morphing, it's quite obvious that Loki has decided to do quite the opposite of inconspicuous as his bone structure changes slightly, hips widening and chest filling out until the slender male has been replaced with a very shapely female.  
Moments later an impossibly red colour starts bleeding into his hair, sliding past the black and almost dripping down until the red tips end at his knees, creating a rather interesting ombre effect, the eyes remain the same piercing green, but there's no way anyone would connect the gorgeous woman with Loki.  
  


“Fuck that's hot!”  
  


Tony may be in a relationship, of sorts at least, he loved Yasha but they had yet to define their relationship beyond their initial agreement, but that sure as hell didn't stop him from appreciating a piece of art when he saw one, even it it happened to be a person.  
  


“ _A body that could topple empires.”_  
  


Yasha's agreement holds a note of amusement, but also an honest appreciation.  
  


“Anyone who sees us will assume you're an enhanced or mutant I'm trying to recruit. Cause damn, no baseline human is that hot and short of a very expensive wig, they won't be able to pull off hair like that.”  
  


Loki however wasn't done yet as the familiar green and gold shimmered across his form, replacing the simple, dark green, loose fitting pants and tunic with a tightly fitted sleeveless leather tunic and matching pants.  
A second wave of green and gold added aspects of armor that appeared to be inspired by Yasha's tactical gear, plenty of buckles and highlighted with gold  
  


“Alright, dressing to the nines it is.”  
  


Tony quickly headed for the master bedroom, and his main wardrobe while Yasha returned down to their locked floors to gear up as _Blade_ for the outing.  
For a moment Loki found himself standing in the middle of the room, wondering what the heck had just happened, then he shook his head with a laugh, even when he tried he couldn't seem to shake Stark's acceptance.  
The man clearly had some pretty impressive ability to just accept whatever craziness the Norns threw his way, which probably was how he managed to stay sane.  
Loki was still considering the sanity of his potential new allies when the elevator returned and Yasha joined him, Stark had yet to return from his room though.  
  


“Your equipment is quite different now.”  
  


Loki quickly took in the differences in Yasha's appearance, most obvious difference being that the metal arm was now covered by the sleeve of his jacket, the gear he had worn previously left the entire left arm bare.  
  


“ _I'm not Ghost now.”_  
“But not Yasha either?”  
 _“No, no one can know I'm here, so when we go out I'm Blade, Tony's enhanced bodyguard.”_  
“Blade is also mute, using a voice synthesizer to speak, can't risk Rogers recognizing Yasha's voice.”  
  


Loki paused for a moment as Stark joined them, dressed in Midgardian finery.  
  


“Your former allies cause you a lot of trouble.”  
“No shit Sherlock...”  
 _“I'd prefer them dead, but unfortunately they have tactical value while alive.”  
_

Yasha never pretended that he wouldn't prefer ending them most of the time, but he did understand the tactical advantage of keeping them around.  
  


“Enough about that depressing topic, let's show Red Sonja here a good night out.”  
“Red Sonja?”  
“Fri baby, would you educate our recent redhead here on the topic of crazy hot redheads who can kick some serious ass please.”  
“On it Boss. Loki, if you would direct your attention to the tablet Boss gave you please.”  
  


Loki picks up the tablet and goes through the information Friday is giving him, she describes a warrior born from suffering who rose to defeat any challenger, recounting various tales and legends of a fierce, redheaded, female warrior with fire in her heart to match her hair.  
He can't help shaking his head with a smile at the various artistic renderings supposed to depict the warrior woman though, most of the images show a voluptuous redhead wearing a scale armor top that barely covers her breasts and a scant loincloth in matching style that would be more appropriate for a pleasure house than the battlefield.  
  


“Whatever protection would they suggest that this armor would provide?”  
“Well, it would sure as hell be pretty distracting to anyone she fights that's even remotely interested in women.”  
  


Tony's quip is filled with amused agreement.  
  


“True...”  
“So, is Sonja an acceptable name to use for this outing?”  
“Using the legend of this Red Sonja as a title would indeed be acceptable for this form.”  
“Alright, it's settled then.”  
  


Tony picks one of the calm and classy spots from his list of date restaurants, they serve excellent food and don't tolerate paparazzi on their premises, and he knows they are more than able to cater to the dietary needs of enhanced individuals as well so Yasha and Loki won't have to leave hungry.  
It was easy to slip into his playboy mask, shamelessly flirting with Loki while offering Yasha teasing quips and touches, playing a role that wouldn't cause suspicion, the fact that Loki gave as good as he got made the evening very entertaining.  
  


Tony did keep an extra eye on Yasha's reactions though, the last thing he wanted was to make him uncomfortable, or make him feel sidestepped, he could tell that Loki was paying attention as well, obviously not wanting to take the teasing exchange too far.  
  


Leaving the restaurant it quickly became obvious that someone had tipped off the sharks as there was a herd of paparazzi waiting outside.  
  


“I can have Fri bring the car around through the delivery zone if you prefer not getting close to the sharks.”  
“I am quite used to the attention of crowds of gossipers, your media is no different.”  
“Alright.”  
  


There was a glint in Loki's eyes that put Tony on edge, he was clearly up to something.  
That something was revealed as they approached the car and Loki leaned in to whisper in his ear.  
  


“Here I was under the impression that a successful Midgardian date was supposed to end with a kiss.”  
  


There was no way Tony could back down from such an obvious challenge, he didn't even pause to consider the million reasons why it would be a very bad idea to kiss Loki, instead he just took a small step to close the distance and planted his best date kiss on the smiling bastard.  
For a brief moment there was a hint of surprise in Loki's expression, but it was quickly replaced by something almost smug as he slipped into the car before giving the circling sharks a perfect smile and a small wave.  
  


Loki was only mildly surprised that Stark rose to his challenge with such ease, he was learning to set any expectations or preconceived ideas aside when it came to the inventor, the surprise stemmed more from the fact that the kiss seemed earnest.  
He couldn't sense any hesitation nor any of the emotional walls that would usually be there when formalities were exchanged, instead there were hints of curiosity mixed into the obvious challenge as Stark gave him a proper kiss, which prompted Loki to respond in kind.  
Stark's flavour was clean with hints of the food and drinks they had just enjoyed, and the presence of his own brand of magic added a tang of fresh forged metal with a hint of those Midgardian drupes, coconut, it was unexpected, but not unpleasant.  
  


The moment Yasha closed the door behind Tony he slumped and dropped his face into his hands.  
  


“Pepper is so gonna kill me for this.”  
“She disapproves of you seeking a new partner despite having left you?”  
  


Now Loki was actually surprised, and slightly concerned, such behaviour in a former lover could be troublesome, and dangerous, especially since a former partner tended to possess knowledge that could pose a risk.  
  


“No, not like that, she's just gonna be pissed that I didn't alert PR about seeing someone before getting caught out by the sharks.”  
  


Tony heaves a deep sigh, sometimes he hated being Tony fucking Stark, hated always being on display, hated the way everyone seem to feel like he was fucking public property.  
  


“Being Tony Stark puts me at the centre of a lot of attention, and anything I do will reflect not just on Stark Industries, but on the Avengers Initiative as well.”  
“Now that is a predicament I am all too familiar with.”  
“Everyone seems to think that just 'cause someone is famous, or wealthy, they have some kind of fucking right to their lives, and the lives of anyone around them.”  
  


Tony knew he was ranting again, but he was just so sick of being in the public eye, sick of how it affected not just him but Yasha as well, how it drew attention to those around him, putting his loved ones at risk.  
Feeling cool hands on his knees startled him out of his tirade and brought his attention back to the here and now, focusing back on Loki.  
  


“There you are.”  
“Sorry, can't seem to help ranting at you about all kinds of crap you have nothing to do with.”  
“It is a quite interesting way to learn about the less savoury sides of Midgardian culture and politics.”  
“Still, shouldn't be shovelling my crappy issues on you...”  
“I truly do not mind, the knowledge is useful, and I would hardly call their failure to respect even the most basic boundaries or privacy to be an issue to be placed on your shoulders. That is their failure, not yours.”  
  


There was a moment of silence before Loki continued.  
  


“If anything, it is a welcome sign of trust that you would share such issues and reveal your feelings to me with such complete openness. For this I must thank you.”  
  


Loki's words gave Tony pause and he realised he had one hell of a point, the only people he had ever ranted to in the past was Rhodey and Pepper, and occasionally Bruce.  
Yasha had been added to that list shortly after his arrival at the tower and now so had Loki, which left Tony a bit uncomfortable, worried that magic was somehow involved.  
  


“It may interest you to know that Thor speaks of you on occasion when reminiscing about the past, about me, and he speaks of how well he believes we would have gotten along had we met before the events that led to my true heritage being revealed.”  
“Can't say I think he would be wrong about that, got a feeling we were both more trusting back then.”  
“Indeed, we have been similarly broken by expectations and betrayal, but perhaps it is not yet too late to find common ground beyond that. I would not be adverse to exploring the possibility of friendship.”  
  


The way Loki glanced over his shoulder to look at Yasha made it quite clear that the offer or whatever it could be called included him as well.  
  


“To possibilities then.”  
  


There was a hollowness to Stark's words that set Loki's magic on edge, and as the man turned to look out the window of the car he caught a glimpse of his eyes and almost gasped at the vastness of the void, the absolute darkness of the abyss, reflected in them.  
  


The silence that followed was somewhat uncomfortable at first, but by the time they reached the tower it had shifted back into something comfortable and the tension had bled from Tony's form.  
  


“How about we round this night off with a few drinks?”  
  


The offer made Loki raise his eyebrow in a somewhat teasing question.  
  


“I doubt even your collection holds something strong enough to affect my physiology. I may not be as tolerant as a born Æsir but I am still accustomed to drinks that are far more potent than your Midgardian brews and distillates.”  
“Probably not, but I do have a collection made for the most refined tastes. And it's not like you'd be alone in not getting drunk, Yasha's serum makes sure he can't feel more than the slightest buzz, and I frankly don't know if I can get drunk after Phoenix.”  
“A hopefully enjoyable experiment then.”  
“Mhm...”  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· An Unholy Alliance·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“I find it interesting that so many of Midgard's drinks are now either sour, bitter or astringent. Most drinks of the other realms are either sweet, fruity, or carry the bite of spices. The old peoples of Midgard used to make sweeter brews as well, more similar to the mead and ales of Asgard.”  
  


Loki found that most of Midgard's drinks didn't suit his tastes, he much preferred the light Vanir wines or robust Dwarven ales, both of them sweeter than their Midgardian counterparts and lacking the hints of acidity and bitterness.  
He had also found himself occasionally appreciating the heady burn of the drinks that was created on Jötunheim, gently distilled from a mash of roots, moss and lichen found deep within the vast caves that stretched throughout the cold world.  
  


“There's plenty of sweet stuff as well, mostly various liqueurs, which is essentially plain alcohol with a lot of added sugar and some sort of flavouring. I guess the industrial method we use to make the base spirits is different too, mostly just cheap sugars and starch to make the mash for fermentation, then thoroughly distilled to get a neutral flavour.”  
  


Stark seemed more than happy to talk about the various methods of brewing and distilling used on Midgard, and to offer samples of drinks produced with the various methods.  
  


“I must say Stark, this is not how I imagined I would spend my visit to Midgard.”  
  


Loki carefully tilted the small tumbler with a dark, slightly thicker, liqueur that was supposedly based on a liquorice candy, he found the mix of sweet, salty, and a slight spicy burn to be intriguing.  
  


“Would you please knock it off with the Stark crap, Stark was my father and I'd prefer to think that kissing in front of the paparazzi would be enough to put us on a first name basis.”  
  


There was equal parts annoyance and amusement in the request which made the trickster in Loki's nature stir, looking for a way to turn the words around, to play with Stark, granting his request without giving him what he wanted.  
  


“As you wish, Anthony.”  
“Just Tony for crying out loud. Only one to ever call me Anthony was mom when I was in trouble.”  
  


The trace of old pain gave Loki pause, made the desire to play tricks fade, and after a moment he gave in to the request, even though the address felt a bit too familial for his taste.  
He chose to allow them to address him by his given name simply because it was the only name he felt was his own and now he had a feeling that Stark, no, Tony, had similar feelings about his own name.  
  


“It was not my intent to cause discomfort, Tony.”  
“Just a lot of shitty memories. I'd rather not ruin a perfectly good evening by going down that particular track.”  
  


Loki just nods, more than happy to allow any unpleasant topics fade away and simply enjoy the calm comfort that has settled over the small sitting area, watching Tony distract himself by brushing Yasha's hair and braiding it.  
The small braids reminded Loki of how the warriors of Alfheim and Vanaheim would wear their hair to keep it out of the way in battle, though they wore theirs significantly longer and it brought to mind memories of how he had trained with their warriors, and mages.  
It had been different from training with the Æsir, his magic accepted, even valued and he remembered how they would help each other with the braids as a form of bonding between shield-brothers, and sisters, unlike the Æsir both the Vanir and the Elves valued female warriors just as highly as male ones.  
  


Among the Æsir magic was usually looked down upon, seen as something for women, and in the fields of battle it was rarely accepted beyond being something used by the healers, who were almost always female, and the warriors always male save for a precious few, his mother, being Vanir, had been raised a warrior.  
Among those born of Asgard there was Lady Sif, and in the past there had been the Valkyrie, the records were sketchy on what had happened to them, even their existence had only been mentioned in a few obscure texts Loki had found in a Vanir library.  
Thor's ability to call thunder was one of the few exceptions where the Æsir accepted a male wielding magic, and that was mainly because most believed the ability to come from Mjølnir when in truth the Dwarf forged Uru merely acted as a focus for him to channel and control the power.  
Though, Loki suspected that even Thor believed that the hammer was the origin of his abilities as he had never sought to refine them, maybe that should be Thor's next task should he return from whatever part of the universe he had managed to get himself lost in.  
  


The fact that Loki didn't notice that Tony had moved to sit next to him until the man touched his hair was a testament to just how deep in his own thoughts he had been.  
  


“Shit, sorry.”  
  


Tony scurried back with a look bordering on outright panic when Loki startled at the touch.  
  


“No need for apologies, I should not have lost myself quite so deeply in my thoughts, I was not paying attention to my surroundings.”  
”...”  
  


A silent Tony was a startling contrast which left Loki rather uncomfortable so he prods gently to see what had compelled the man to touch him.  
  


“Was there something you wanted?”  
  


Loki watched as Tony floundered and blushed slightly before speaking up.  
  


“Maybe I misread shit here, and I'm seriously sorry if I did, but the way you were watching while I was braiding Yasha's hair... You kinda looked like you'd want some braids of your own....”  
  


It's not until Tony mentions braids that Loki realizes that there is a brush and a small bag of hair ties resting next to them on the couch.  
  


“No, you did not misread. Seeing it brought forth some of my better memories from training with warriors and mages of the other realms.”  
  


He turns slowly, offering Tony his back, and his hair, then after a moment of consideration he pulls on the power that makes his form fluid, bending it to his will, forcing his hair to grow until it falls to mid back, long enough for making proper braids.  
  


Tony eagerly listened as Loki explained about the warrior cultures of Vanaheim and Alfheim, they sounded a lot more accepting than Asgard did, he paid attention when Loki described how their warriors and mages would braid their hair for battle.  
He was more than happy to follow Loki's careful instructions to braid the inky black hair into the braids that were apparently befitting for someone of Loki's skill, and he listened carefully as Loki explained their meaning and how they were earned.  
  


Loki explained which braids Tony and Yasha would have been allowed to wear under Vanir and Elven culture, and he showed them some of the hair beads crafted from finest Alfheim silver that would display an Elven warrior's exploits for all to see.  
By the time they retreated to sleep Loki felt oddly content, and the movement and weight of the braids allowed him to feel as if he was back in his youth, if only for a moment.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· An Unholy Alliance·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Yasha, I need to ask, are you okay with tonight? The flirting and stuff I mean, you can be kinda hard to read, especially with the mask on...”  
  


Tony hadn't noticed anything that indicated that Yasha was upset, but he intended to make sure.  
  


“ _I would tell you if it bothered me.”_  
“That's good... I just, I need to know, need you to know... You're the one who matters most to me...”  
 _“You are mine, I won't let anyone take you away from me. But I would be willing to share with someone who we find worthy.”_  
  


There was a sharp edge of possessiveness to Yasha's words, but the second part left Tony's mind spinning as Yasha pinned him down on the bed, overwhelming him with raw power.  
  


“ _If Loki proves trustworthy, I would be willing to consider sharing you with him.”_  
  


There is something about the edge of determination in Yasha's voice that pulls Tony's mind out of the daze and he carefully reaches up to cup Yasha's face.  
  


“Yasha?”  
  


In a single heartbeat the intense feeling of Yasha's barely contained power shifts, the sharp edge of something dangerous replaced with a sense of total safety.  
  


“Hmm?”  
  


The soft hum sent a shiver of pure desire down Tony's spine, but focusing on what needed to be done he pushed it aside.  
  


“You've been quiet, even for you, since Loki showed up. Mind sharing what's been occupying that gorgeous brain of yours? Apart from the obvious that it has something to do with green eyes up in the penthouse.”  
 _“Observing, collecting intelligence, not used to evaluating such data myself, Hydra would have it handed over to a handler or an intelligence agent.”_  
  


Tony just settled down and waited for Yasha to share his observations, he was curious to see what the well honed instincts of the enhanced assassin had picked up on that he had missed himself.  
  


“ _I have a feeling he rarely tells the entire truth, keeping enough to himself to stay safe, and have room to play his games.”_  
“Yeah, doubt he got titles like God of Lies or Silvertongue without good reason. Hell, if even half the legends about the guy have any base in truth he's the guy that successfully sells sand in sahara and ice to Eskimos. The kind of guy who could rob someone blind and have them thanking him for the honour.”  
 _“He doesn't seem malicious though, at least not unless someone has betrayed him. Dangerous when needed, or threatened, yes, but not malicious.”_  
“Not unlike us. Usually controlled, contained and deadly when needed, but vicious if provoked to the point of losing that control.”  
  


It was a feeling Tony had since the first time he faced off against Loki, a feeling of familiarity, one predator recognising another, a recognition he had shared with Yasha as well the first time they met.  
  


“ _That's my take as well.”_  
“I think trying to manipulate or outright control him would be right up there with betrayal for earning his wrath though.”  
 _“Agreed. Also, he's obviously proud and well aware of his abilities, I doubt he'd react kindly to being underestimated.”_  
“Definitely not, just look at how he responds to the fact that we're wary of him. I think he'd be disappointed if we trusted him too easily, and he would definitely be pissed off if underestimated.”  
“Boss, may I add a few things?”  
“Of course Fri baby.”  
“I think it might be a good idea if you stop trying to hold back around Loki.”  
“Hold back what?”  
  


Friday's words left Tony slightly confused and he pointed a questioning glance toward the nearest camera.  
  


“Mostly your tactile tendencies, my observations indicate he is every bit as touch deprived as the two of you were when Yasha first arrived at tower. And he's obviously highly intelligent so I think he'd find verbal sparring both entertaining and rewarding. A safe way to test the limits and measure the wit of a potential ally.”  
  


The information was not what Tony had expected, but Friday had barely stopped speaking before Yasha nodded in agreement, and Tony found that he wasn't adverse to at least giving it a try.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· An Unholy Alliance·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Loki contemplated what he had learned so far about the pair and he found it to be promising, Yasha was a bit hard to read but what he could sense was a deep, glacial, calm, but at the same time there was the feeling of a sleeping beast, if anything it brought to mind the ancient dragons.  
Wisdom wrapped in patience, with sharp, calculating minds, they were suspicious as few, but fiercely loyal once they deemed someone worthy, and their wrath could tear worlds apart if betrayed, or if someone harmed what was theirs.  
Tony carried a lot of those traits as well, but where Yasha was calm and steady, Tony was a whirlwind of energy, of innovation, his mind constantly jumping from idea to idea, chasing new concepts and implementations.  
It was hard not to be pulled along with that energy and Loki was pleased that Yasha seemed to be well versed in keeping Tony anchored without suppressing him, allowing him the freedom to be what he was, but keeping him from losing himself to his own nature.  
  


It was with a sigh that Loki admitted to himself that he did not want to return to Asgard, he knew he had to, but he would much rather just stay in Midgard and get to know Tony and Yasha properly.  
Knowing he would have to return the day after next Loki began to make plans, he needed a way to allow them to come in contact with magic that was neutral, guiding, to allow them to become more in touch with the power within them.  
Especially Tony would need it as there was a possibility that he had actually been born with it.  
  


Loki would need to craft something he could leave with them, something like the bracelets Frigga had given him when his magic first began to manifest.  
He would have to use Midgardian materials though, he couldn't risk that the alien nature of any other materials was somehow discovered, and the easiest way would probably be to simply ask Tony.  
He was an inventor, a smith, and an engineer, and based on how he had made the element for his arc reactor, an alchemist, he should have access to some suitable materials.  
  


“Friday, is Tony available? There is something I would like to ask him.”  
“One moment please.”  
“Of course.”  
  


After a few moments of silence Friday announced that Tony and Yasha would join him as soon as they were decent, a comment that made him wonder just how sapient the AI really was, he was still trying to understand just what she was though.  
There was a lot he still needed to learn about Midgardian technology as it had developed very differently than the fusion of tech and magic that dominated the other realms.  
  


“Hey Princess, Fri said you needed something.”  
  


The energetic call from the elevator brought Loki from his thoughts and he quickly collected himself and decided on how to approach the topic.  
  


“There is something I would like to create before I leave, and since I intend to leave it here, with you, it needs to be made from Midgardian materials so it can not be detected as not being of this realm.”  
“Does that mean you've made up your mind and decided to take the risk and go ahead with this alliance?”  
“It does, if you are in agreement.”  
“Yeah we are. We have our reservations, and I'm pretty sure you have plenty of 'em as well, but it has too much potential not to take the risk.”  
“Agreed.”  
  


Loki could feel the faint magic of true intent settle over them, and he had a feeling both Tony and Yasha could sense it as well even if they were unaware of what it was, of the meaning and possible implications of it.  
  


“So, what kind of materials are we talking about, and how much?”  
  


Tony's words quickly chased away the slightly foreboding sensation and Loki was more than happy to let it go, he would return to examine it once he had returned to Asgard.  
  


“Not much, a handful of suitable metal and a pair of crystals of decent purity and durability.”  
  


Tony considered the request for a moment, then shrugged, he had spoken at length about the whole alliance thing with Yasha and Friday, and figured there was no reason to hold back now.  
  


“Guess we could have a look in the workshop to see if any of the scraps I have there would do, if not I could always order something and have it delivered tomorrow. As for crystals, I have a bunch of different ones from experimenting with various optics, lasers and holographics, maybe some of those would work. If not, again, we can buy something tomorrow.”  
“You would permit me access to your workshop?”  
“Got no reason not to.”  
  


Tony didn't mention that it was the most secure location in the tower, nor did he mention all the suits he kept there, Loki would no doubt understand that it was not naïve trust that earned him the invitation once he saw the workshop.  
There was a rather obvious nod of approval the moment Loki stepped into the workshop and spotted the line of suits against the back wall.  
  


“Those two containers over there have everything from suit scraps to old alloy experiments, feel free to grab anything you find there.”  
  


Loki turned to the indicated spot and found two metal containers about as wide as he was tall, twice as long and half as deep, filled to the brim with metal scraps.  
  


“Thank you.”  
“I'll see what crystals I can find while you dig through that.”  
  


Giving the rather impressive pile of scraps a look Loki allows his magic to rise and pour into the containers, filling them both with a mist that touches everything, carefully seeing if anything would respond to him.  
With a barely restrained gasp his magic snaps back to him and pours back out to focus on one of the pieces and following it he quickly pulls his find from the container to have a closer look at it.  
The square piece of metal is about as wide as his hand and a finger thick, the surface matte and shifting in the blue and purple of tempered steel, and a series of letters and numbers are stamped along the edge.  
Loki quickly grabs his find and walks over to Tony to try to find out more about it.  
  


“What is this metal?”  
“Fri, would you be a dear and check the serial?”  
“Of course Boss.”  
  


Moments later a projection comes to life, showing all the data on the experimental alloy Loki had selected.  
  


“That's one of the alloys I made when experimenting with the arc reactor, trying to make a casing that would allow a better energy transfer without messing with my body chemistry too much. Mostly titanium with traces of cobalt, tantalum and my own secret ingredient. Didn't do what I wanted it to though.”  
“It responds well to my magic...”  
“Well, have at it, like I said, feel free to grab anything from those containers.”  
  


With the confirmation that he was allowed to use the curious piece of metal Loki quickly tucked it into one of his pockets before looking at what Tony was up to as he sorted through various small metal cases, asking Friday to scan the various codes on them to show their contents.  
  


“Any specifics on the crystals you need?”  
“Ideally without impurities or flaws in the crystal structure, and I would need two of similar size that can be cut to match, about this size.”  
  


Loki quickly drew a figure about 3 centimetres long and 1 centimetre wide then added a thickness of about 3 millimetres.  
  


“Does it have to be a natural crystal, or can it be a grown crystal?”  
  


The somewhat confused look on Loki's face made Tony shake his head, it would seem laboratory grown synthetic crystals wasn't a thing out there.  
  


“Never mind, just check if any of these would do.”  
  


He quickly piled up various cases containing various crystals he used for experimenting with optics.  
  


“Where did you manage to find crystals like these?”  
  


The pure awe in Loki's tone threw Tony off and he quickly walked over to see what had triggered such a reaction.  
A quick look revealed that Loki was looking, or rather, staring at the set of synthetic diamonds he had commissioned when he was experimenting with using crystals for data storage.  
The case contained 17 octagon cut diamonds that had been created specifically to be perfect, virtually identical down to an atomic level.  
They had cost him a pretty penny, but had failed to produce the results he wanted, destroying three out of the original 20 so now they were collecting dust in a drawer until he found some other use for them.  
  


“Those are synthetic diamonds, built atom by atom to be structurally perfect and identical.”  
  


Loki knew of ways to create crystals using magic, but he had never come across ones quite like these.  
  


“Go on, take 'em, they're just collecting dust anyway and you look like you have a millions things you wanna try doing with 'em already.”  
  


Loki couldn't deny that he had a lot of very interesting ideas for how to use them, but more than anything he wanted to study them.  
  


“I find myself somewhat humbled by your generosity, not a feeling I am accustomed to.”  
“The asshole Stark, always throwing money around trying to buy what he doesn't deserve, forgiveness, friendship, acceptance, love... ”  
  


The amount of venom and self-deprecation in those words, and the way Tony spoke them with a deep familiarity hit Loki like a physical blow, he may be a suspicious bastard on the best of days, but he could tell true generosity from those who sought to make themselves feel better, or worse, employed false generosity as a means to garner favour.  
Seeing how readily Tony placed guilt on himself Loki had no doubt that numbing that intense sense of guilt was part of the reason for Tony's generous help with cleaning up after incidents where the Avengers had been involved.  
But he was equally convinced it was not the driving reason, as far as he could tell it was simply Tony deciding it was the right thing to do and then went about it the same way he did with so many other things, with everything he had.  
  


“I was raised a prince and I have sat on the throne of Asgard for years now, I am well acquainted with empty gifts, bids to garner my favour or purchase my support. This is not it.”  
  


The way Tony froze was telling and for a moment the fractures and broken edges shone through the masks, painting a jarring contrast against the usual aura of confidence, how one man could carry so much self doubt and still have the confidence to push on was a true enigma.  
  


“Mother had an extraordinary talent for looking into the heart of any being, she tried her best to teach me, but I did not know myself well enough to be open to those lessons. One thing I did learn however was to recognize true generosity.”  
“I'm...”  
“Keep your silence, I'm not done speaking.”  
  


Loki cut Tony off a bit harsher than intended, he had no intention of allowing him to object and no desire to hear the man rip into himself again.  
  


“It may help numb the guilt you place on yourself, rightfully or not, but that is not why you put so much of yourself into helping others, is it?”  
“....”  
“You help because you can, because you feel it is the right thing to do. But you also understand that blindly throwing money at problems will not solve them.”  
  


Tony's startled silence slowly turned contemplative.  
  


“Teach a man to fish...”  
“Hmm?”  
“It's an old Chinese proverb; Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.”  
“Wise words, and very fitting from what I have been able to find while researching you. I took the time to read about your efforts to give unfortunate youths a chance to pursue higher studies, offering funding for studies and research, giving them the tools to better themselves so they can rise and build a better tomorrow.”  
  


For a moment a wide range of emotions played across Tony's face, then they settled on surprise.  
  


“You read up on the scholarships and foundations?”  
“Of course I did, words may be a favoured weapon of mine, but actions do speak louder as you mortals say. It was quite the garble of information, but Friday was most helpful with sorting truth from rumours and outright slander.”  
“...”  
  


The uncomfortable silence was broken by Yasha placing a pair of cups on the table, or well, a huge mug of steaming coffee and a cup with a floral tea.  
  


“Thank you.”  
  


Loki accepted the tea while watching Tony gushing over his coffee as if his life depended on it, showering it with a flood of endearments and a glance at Yasha revealed a hint of an indulgent smile.  
  


“So, any chance I can watch while you make whatever it is you wanted to make?”  
  


Fortunately Loki was getting used to the way Tony's moods would flip so the sudden upbeat curiosity only made him raise an eyebrow at the way the man was suddenly all the way in his space, leaning over his shoulder.  
  


“Perhaps, if you are able to sit like a normal person and not ask a million stupid questions while I work.”  
“I can totally do that.”  
  


Loki could almost see how Tony's wayward energies pulled close, wrapping around him and settling into a focus as sharp as any blade as he walked around the workstation and took a seat across from him.  
The steady thrum of curiosity seemed to fill the room as Loki brought out the tools he needed to craft the artefacts he had in mind.  
Loki couldn't help smiling at the way Tony was shifting in his seat, the curiosity and obvious struggle not to ask all the questions he clearly had on his mind brought to mind the image of a curious child.  
With an internal huff Loki began explaining what he was doing, trying to keep his words simple for someone with no experience with magic and soon Tony's energy settled down, the sharp focus and curiosity remained, but the restlessness faded away.  
  


Tony couldn't help gaping when he saw Loki breaking the solid piece of metal apart with his hands, and as far as he could tell, into 4 equal parts, a quick thought to Friday had her starting the various scanners, and confirming that the pieces were equal down to a milligram.  
Loki didn't use any tools other than his strength and a faint green glow around his hands as he took one of the pieces and once again broke in half, then began shaping it into a bangle, twisting and turning it in his hands.  
When he was done shaping two identical bangles the green magic faded and was replaced by glowing gold.  
  


“This is the raw magic of Asgard that connects to the source of Yggdrasil. Imbuing it into the bangles will identify you as being under the protection of Asgard, it will allow you to call on the Gatekeeper and he will be obliged to heed your call the same as he would any noble of Asgard.”  
“So we could get a message to you? Or well, to Odin.”  
“Yes, or you could call on the Bifrost to get you away from mortal danger.”  
“You know I'm going to ask you like a million questions about this when you're done, right?”  
“I suspected as much. Keep from asking them now and I might just answer a few of them too.”  
  


Tony's mouth snapped closed with an audible click and Loki suspected that the only thing that kept him from squirming was Yasha's hands on his shoulders.  
  


“The next part is far more delicate, so it is important that you do not disturb me in any way.”  
  


A pair of quick nods was the only answer he received so he picked up one of the artificial diamonds that Tony had so generously given him for the task and began weaving runes into them, marvelling at the ease with which they accepted the magic.  
There was no trace of impurities or flaws that could affect the result and Loki found that he was far less drained than usual after completing the work, not having to waste power on fighting against the very nature of the material made quite a difference.  
  


“A layer of warning and protection against malicious magic and attempts to manipulate your minds, it won't last very long against a full on assault, but it should be enough to buy you some time.”  
  


Loki explained the various enchantments while manipulating more of the metal into fittings and chains so they could be worn around the neck.  
  


“The closer they are worn the better, I had the runes set into my bones after my unfortunate meeting with the Mad titan.”  
“Sounds painful...”  
“Far less so than the tender ministrations of his children and servants.”  
  


Giving Tony and Yasha the pendants Loki sits back and watches as they inspect the items carefully.  
  


“ _Would this still work if placed in a compartment in my arm?”_  
  


Loki hadn't expected either of them to be willing to carry the charm so closely, but he offers a quick nod.  
  


“It is part of you every bit as much as your flesh arm.”  
“And would it work if we encapsulate it in an inert gel to make sure it doesn't rattle around or affect any of the systems? That arm is connected directly to his brain...”  
“It would depend on the properties of this gel of yours, some materials are able to insulate against magic and that would disrupt the effect of the charm.”  
  


Tony quickly dug around in one of the drawers and pulled out a piece of the gel material he used as a shock-absorbent in his suit as well as around some of the parts of Yasha's arm to keep them from slipping, he had also used it to reduce vibrations in the old arm.  
  


Loki tested the material with his magic and quickly concluded that it wouldn't affect the result any more than regular clothes would, then he watched with avid curiosity as Tony used a slender tool to remove one of the metal plates and carefully added a more liquid version of the gel.  
He didn't understand the entire process, but it would seem exposing the liquid gel to a specific type of light made it harden and after a few minutes the charm was secured inside the arm and Loki tested it with a simple spell that didn't have enough power to do any real harm.  
  


“ _Strange feeling...”_  
“Seems to be working though.”  
  


Loki watched as Tony grabbed Yasha's wrist, and Yasha took Tony's other wrist in the same manner, trapping their hands between their bodies, then just standing there, seemingly silent, but Loki could see the slight shifts in expressions that made it quite obvious they were discussing something the didn't feel like letting him be part of.  
  


Tony and Yasha were silently debating, or maybe arguing, about how much of a risk it would be for Tony to secure the diamond charm against the bottom of the reactor housing, both were a bit hesitant, but it would be a good show of trust.  
And since Tony wasn't actually dependent on the reactor any more it wasn't all that huge of a risk when weighed with the risk of accepting the magic infused diamonds to begin with.  
  


“Loki, would there be any interference between this and my reactor?”  
“This entire place is bathed in traces of your energy, I made sure to draw on that when I created the weave, they should not affect each other.”  
 _“Are you sure?”  
_

The way Yasha was looking at Tony made it quite clear to Loki that the question was not aimed at him.  
  


“No, but I think it's something that needs to be done.”  
 _“God or not, if this harms Tony in any way I_ _ **will**_ _find a way to kill you.”_  
  


That however was definitely meant for Loki and he had no doubt Yasha would stop at nothing to fulfil that promise, he still had no idea what it was the pair had decided on though.  
Tony quickly used some of the antiseptic solution he always kept at hand in the workshop to wipe the diamond charm and a pair of forceps to hold it.  
Loki watched as Tony removed his shirt, revealing the steady glow of the reactor and the starburst of scars around it and when Tony's hand came up to cover it he considered turning around, but the hand quickly fell away again which he took as permission to observe..  
  


“Yasha...”  
  


The somewhat odd mood set Loki on edge as he tried to figure it out.  
  


“ _I have it.”_  
  


Clarity came as Loki watched Yasha reach around with the metal arm and detach the reactor from it's housing and gently pull it out, revealing the hole in Tony's chest.  
He couldn't fully suppress the nausea as he watched Tony pour some other kind of gel over the charm and then insert it into the hole in his chest, using some kind of small camera on a metal arm to see what he was doing.  
There was no blood, but it was still a very disconcerting sight, and based on what Tony had explained about his past the previous version had been larger and deeper.  
  


Tony gave Yasha an unsteady nod to put the reactor back and he breathed a sigh of relief when it snapped into place and he felt the power connect, they had been working a lot with dealing with having it removed and in a calm situation he was able to keep the panic down, but he still hated it.  
  


“Fri, bring up the diagnostic scans from the nanites please.”  
“Right away Boss.”  
  


Tony knew his eyes were alight with the glowing blue ring as he took control of the nanites and used them to construct a simple fitting of the same nano filament that connected various parts of his body with the core of the nano computer.  
The fitting would keep the diamond charm in place and make sure it didn't shift or move in any way.  
  


“You okay there Reindeer Games? You're looking a bit paler, and greener, than usual.”  
“I will be. That was not a sight I was prepared for.”  
“Yeah, sorry 'bout that. Don't really show this off much, tend to forget how uncomfortable people can get seeing how deep it actually goes.”  
“Hearing it described did little to prepare me for seeing it.”  
“At least you didn't pass out or hurl or anything equally embarrassing.”  
“Small blessings.”  
  


Loki refused to admit how close it had been, it wasn't really the damage as such though, he had seen worse on the battlefield, on warriors in Eir's chambers, but such an injury on a mortal, that was something else.  
Clearing his mind of the thoughts Loki focused on the next pair of items, making sure to centre himself and seek out the paths of Yggdrasil before starting, it would not do to have his mind wander while crafting the Vegvísir.  
The magic of the rune compass would allow the one holding it to see their soul sanctuary, something he had a feeling could be good for both of them, it would also help them strengthen their connection to Yggdrasil, which might one day make it possible to teach them to travel through the slips.  
And even if they never learned to do it on their own, it would make it possible for Loki to bring them with him without much risk or effort.  
  


“This is the Great Compass.”  
  


Loki placed the two metal disks on the table and slid them forward side by side before indicating for Yasha to take a seat next to Tony so he can explain what they do and how to use them.  
  


“Some Midgardians call it the Vegvísir, Wayfinder, or simply the Runic Compass. It has a long standing tradition as a protector of travellers, a tool to guide wayward souls home, and it is said to guide sailors clear of bad weather and dangerous waters.”  
“And what does it actually do?”  
“All of those things if one knows how to use it. It's original use is to forge a connection to Yggdrasil, to allow it's wielder to read the flow and follow it. For you, it will allow you to revisit the place the Vanir oil showed you, and it will help you further attune with Yggdrasil.”  
  


Loki hesitated for a moment, then explained the potential benefits of forging a deeper connection to Yggdrasil, he explained how visiting the place their souls had shown them, even if it was just a vision, could help anchor them, help them heal their damaged spirits.  
  


“So it could help us deal with the PTSD, panic attacks and all that mental trauma shit?”  
“It is possible, many warriors suffer spiritual damage, losing themselves, losing their footing and way, and visiting their source, even if it is merely a vision, can help provide an anchor against the storm and give them a solid enough ground to stand on so they can find themselves again.”  
 _“Speaking from experience, I take it?”_  
“Yes.”  
  


Loki was grateful that neither man tried to push for details, he knew of course that they both carried their own heap of issues they were less than eager to talk about, but it was still a relief that they didn't even try to seek answers.  
  


“The last item I wish to make I will need your permission, your help, to make.”  
“Oh?”  
 _“Why?”_  
“You remember I showed you how I know Thor is alive even if he is lost beyond the sight of the Gatekeeper?”  
“Yeah.”  
“I wish to create ones bound to you as well, it would allow me to know if you are in mortal danger, and it would give an anchor for which to focus my sight on, allowing me to use the magic of the Asgard throne to see you, and communicate without needing to travel.”  
“What, it would let you spy on us whenever you feel like it?”  
“In essence, yes. But the charms would not allow me to do so without you being aware of me doing it. And with your permission I would visit again and add protection from such magic into your tower and any home you wish to protect.”  
“...”  
  


Tony wasn't sure what to think, but Yasha clearly had a few things on his mind, quickly questioning Loki about how the protection would work, and if it would disable the line of communication he had mentioned.  
  


“It would still be possible to communicate, you would simply require a similar artefact here to connect to.”  
 _“And this would be secure? No way for others to overhear or intercept?”_  
“It can be monitored by outsiders, but it would require them to be a magic wielder with power and skill equal or superior to my own. And there are precious few creatures, beings, in the Nine who fit into that category, and none that would have any cause to risk my ire for such an act.”  
  


Loki watched as the pair shared a quick look before deciding to agree, this time they didn't use whatever means of silent communication they did by touching hands though, telling him it had been a fairly easy addition to what they had already decided on.  
It was quick and familiar work to shape the metal into two round amulets, then he brought out two of the milky white stones that were already prepared for the purpose, he always carried a few in his hidden dimension.  
  


“Is that white jade?”  
“No, this stone can only be found in the mines of Nidavellir, fortunately it has few uses so the dwarves consider it worthless making them more than happy to part with it for a cheap price.”  
  


He quickly fitted the white stone into the centre of each amulet before holding them out.  
  


“All that is required now is for you to touch the stone.”  
“Here goes.”  
“...”  
  


Tony's quips and Yasha's silence had grown familiar and Loki watched as both reached out to complete the magic.  
It was no surprise that both stones turned blue, Tony's gained the blue glow of his reactor, while Yasha's gained the colour of snow in the predawn and the surface seemed to frost over, both suiting them well.  
  


“So, Mischief, anything special needed to seal the deal?”  
  


Tony's attention span left Loki huffing, but he had a feeling the true reason was that the man wanted to reach the point where he would be freed of the promise not to ask questions.  
  


“No, the intent had been stated with magic as witness, that is all that is required under the laws of Asgard.”  
“No contract is gonna be legally binding here and Fri has recordings of everything we have agreed on, so, how about we just have a few drinks to celebrate the occasion?”  
“Acceptable.”  
  


Tony rose from the chair with a brilliant smile, then leaned in slightly.  
  


“So, how do you manipulate metal like that?”  
  


Loki almost sighed, there would be no end to the questions, but he wouldn't deny that he would enjoy trying to answer the questions as Tony had a mind able to understand it.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· An Unholy Alliance·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


The week Loki had set aside for his visit to Midgard came to an end far sooner than he would have preferred, but he had accomplished far more than he had set out to, though in a far different manner than planned.  
  


“As much as I have enjoyed this reprieve from the weight of duty I must return as Odin's absence beyond what has already been announced would cause great unrest among the Nine.”  
“The show must go on.”  
“Indeed.”  
  


They had decided to share a simple meal before Loki had to take his leave and he was somewhat surprised that Tony and Yasha both mentioned that they would miss his presence, their reasons the same, and yet completely different.  
Tony spoke of how he would miss having a mind able to challenge him to pit himself against, and Yasha spoke of how he would miss having a capable fighter to hone his skills against.  
Loki found that he agreed with both those reasons, he didn't mention his other reasons though, how he would miss the easy acceptance of his magic, the almost gleeful appreciation of his admittedly underhanded tactics, and he would miss the tactile nature of so many of their interactions, casual touches was not something he had much opportunity to enjoy.  
  


Getting ready to slip into the pathways of Yggdrasil, Loki is surprised when Tony asks him to wait a moment and Yasha slips away, only to return with a shallow wooden chest made from a fragrant, red, wood.  
  


“You made some pretty nifty stuff for us, so I figured I'd give you a little something you might like in return.”  
  


Loki watched as Tony opened the chest and revealed the book on Midgardian plants he had been studying, wrapped in soft leather to protect it.  
  


“Fri alerted me the first time you looked at it, I turned off the active surveillance and deleted the records after that, the way you looked when reading it, looked too personal, felt like an intrusion...”  
  


The admission surprised Loki a bit, but it was quickly replaced with a deep sense of gratitude that Tony had set aside some of his security in order to allow him privacy while reading.  
  


“It reminded me of my lessons with mother, her favourite books.”  
  


He reached out and traced the leather binding and metal clasps that held the tome closed, breathing in the fragrance of the wood, no doubt a wood selected to keep pests away from the delicate book.  
  


“It's yours if you want it.”  
“This must be quite a rare item on Midgard as the art of the scribe appears to have been lost...”  
“Somewhat, almost all books are machine printed nowadays, manuscripts are almost exclusively copies of religious texts or diaries. This one's a reproduction for collectors, handmade and all that, but using a few modern techniques to make it more durable.”  
  


Tony's voice trailed off and he couldn't contain his nervous energy, leaving him squirming slightly, worried that he had overstepped some line somewhere.  
  


“A most generous and well considered gift. One I am honoured to accept, it will be a treasured addition to my private collection.”  
  


The air of formality and ritual in the answer was noted, but ignored as the chest was closed up and the keys to the chest and the locks on the metal clasps were handed over along with the chest.  
  


“I will attempt to find the time to visit and add the warding as soon as I can, but it may be a while. Ruling the realms requires a surprising amount of paperwork...”  
“Know the feeling, always too much shit that needs to be done and half the people supposed to be doing it can't find their fucking asses without a map.”  
  


Loki laughed at the familiarity of the complaint as he leaned in to smell the wood before sending it away in a wash of green.  
  


“This wood, would you be willing to acquire more for me? I rather enjoy the scent.”  
“Sure thing, any preference for what form it's in?”  
“Form?”  
“Yeah, raw timber, debarked logs, planks, slices, wood is sold in like a million versions depending on what you're gonna use it for.”  
“I would prefer it to be as close to a freshly felled tree as possible.”  
“Consider it done.”  
  


Loki knew he was stalling, and if he didn't get moving Tony and Yasha would no doubt realize it as well, so he donned his best diplomatic mask and bid them farewell before stepping into the familiar embrace of Yggdrasil.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neither party fully trust the other, but they do realize that working together is their best chance, and to do that they need to learn to trust each other, and they know they can't do that unless they are willing to take some risks.


	11. Unreasonable Demands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are some aspects pulled from the various comic canon coming into play, not just the MCU.
> 
> There is brief mention/hints of forced pregnancy at the end, but no details.

.·:*¨¨*:· Unreasonable Demands·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


As soon as Loki left Tony could feel Yasha slump slightly against his back, they may not have considered Loki a direct threat, but it had still been a hassle to get Yasha to sleep more than a few hours here and there, and he had flat out refused to sleep unless Tony was awake to keep watch.  
  


“Come on, let's get you to bed.”  
  


Yasha grumbled something in Russian that sounded suspiciously like the contrary _I'm not tired_ of an overtired child not wanting to go to bed.  
  


“Of course you're not.”  
  


A gentle tug on Yasha's arm had him following Tony into the elevator and Friday brought them down to their hidden floors without prompting.  
  


The moment he stepped out of the elevator Tony found himself pinned against the wall by Yasha's solid bulk.  
  


“ _Mine...”_  
  


The half question, half statement was accompanied by nibbling kisses along Tony's neck, sending fire through his veins, down his spine.  
  


“Yours.”  
  


Tony managed to hum in agreement before a nip at the base of his throat pulled a needy groan from him and stole his breath away.  
  


“Fuck!”  
“Mhm..”  
“Bed. Now!”  
 _“Bossy.”_  
  


Being picked up and carried as if he weighed nothing did all kinds of delicious things to Tony, and having his legs wrapped around Yasha's waist put him in a perfect position to tell that Yasha was just as affected.  
Yasha was being unusually obedient though, usually he would be all controlling and dominant, not that Tony minded at all.  
He had found quite early in his sexual career that he enjoyed being the dominant one just as much as he did submitting, a switch through and through, and right now he was feeling hopeful that Yasha might be as well, or at least would be able and willing to enjoy both ways.  
There was still the concern that Yasha might react badly to someone being sexually dominant toward him though, with all the sick crap HYDRA had put him through.  
Tony quickly forced himself away from that line of thought, he did not need to ruin his mood with such thoughts, he would be extra careful though.  
  


“Come on _Soldier_ , you are wearing far too much clothes for this.”  
  


Addressing Yasha as _Soldat_ was a bit of a gamble, but the way his eyes darkened with lust while maintaining the slight blue glow told Tony he had hit the payout on that particular gamble.  
He sucked in a sharp breath when Yasha shifted his weight a bit, balancing him on his hip, keeping him secure with his flesh hand, then proceeded to rip his sweatshirt and T-shirt off in one smooth move using the metal hand, easily ripping the fabric.  
  


“That's better. Let me see that delicious body.”  
  


Tony traced his hands over the pale skin, Yasha didn't seem to be able to gain a tan, not that Tony minded, then leaned in and gave one of the scars a languid lick.  
  


“I'm wearing far too much as well.”  
  


There was a calculating question in Yasha's eyes as they roamed over Tony's body, but he didn't move to do anything about his state of dress.  
  


“Undress me, but there will be consequences if you break anything...”  
  


Tony held his breath for a moment, unsure of how Yasha would react to the demand and hint of a threat about not breaking anything.  
He had to bite down on a moan as Yasha pinned him back against the nearest wall for a moment so he could use both hands to unbutton the dress shirt and remove it before pulling off the sleeveless undershirt as well, revealing the glow of the reactor.  
Tony could feel Yasha reach down and undo his belt, buttons and fly before starting to move again, shimming out of his pants as he walked, leaving them in a heap on the floor, and damn if that display of balance and control didn't send a bolt of raw want up his spine.  
The heat dimmed slightly when he noticed that Yasha's gaze was locked over his shoulder, he knew Yasha could navigate the entire tower with his eyes closed, he didn't need to look where he was going to get them safely to the bed.  
  


“Look at me _Soldier_ , don't hide your eyes from me.”  
  


He could feel the shiver that ran through Yasha's body and for a moment he was afraid he had pushed the wrong button, pushed too hard, then Yasha's gaze shifted and locked on his own and he knew they were alright.  
  


“Will you obey, be my dutiful little _Soldier_?”  
 _“The Handler orders, the Asset complies.”_  
  


Yasha's words still carried emotion, and his eyes held a faint glow, telling Tony that he wasn't actually in the compliant Asset mode, had he been Tony would not have proceeded.  
  


“Such a good little _Soldier_. So eager to comply, but you will not comply with anything that makes you uncomfortable, is that clear, _Soldier_?”  
 _“Mission parameters acknowledged. The Asset has discretion?”_  
“Yes, the Asset has discretion.”  
  


This time there was a bit more of the compliant state bleeding through, but Tony recognized it for what it was, Yasha was intentionally using the compulsions and conditioning to set parameters for himself, to make sure he would in fact draw the lines and not just do whatever Tony asked.  
  


“Come on _Soldier_ , remove the rest of my clothes.”  
  


He was promptly placed back on his feet next to the bed and his breath caught as Yasha dropped to his knees in the familiar, and frankly unfairly smooth, way of his, but instead of placing his hand behind his back he reached forward to remove Tony's pants.  
  


“Stop.”  
  


Yasha instantly froze.  
  


“Look at me.”  
  


Again the response was instant.  
  


“Hands behind your back.”  
 _“Complying.”_  
“Now get these pants off, don't look away. And remember, don't damage my stuff.”  
  


Tony didn't give any detailed instructions for how to do it, but he knew the simple pin buckle of his belt and the pants could be undone and removed without too much trouble using one's mouth.  
He had learned how to do it from one of his favourite escorts, the man had been skilled in bed and good company, but what had set him apart, and ultimately been his undoing, was his absolute loyalty to his code of discretion, very few had ever known he was anything than an out of town friend.  
Unfortunately the escort agency he worked for had people within their organisation that were less discerning, people who decided to try to use him to get an inside track to Stark money and secrets.  
In the end he died without giving them anything, and Tony made them pay for every mark they had left on his body before killing them and making their bodies vanish.  
It had been a harsh lesson for Tony, after that he switched to settling the itch with random socialites from various events and upscale bars and clubs that catered to the rich, famous, and beautiful, picking his way through hopeful models and actresses, and the occasional aspiring journalist, sending them on their way come morning.  
  


It didn't take long for Yasha to figure out how to do it as Tony knew he would, HYDRA may have used him as a simple weapon, little more than a blunt club to hit things with, but Tony knew that Yasha was downright brilliant.  
Tony had know all along that James Buchanan Barnes had to have been highly intelligent to be such a skilled sniper, and while the conditioning and torture had destroyed the person _Bucky_ his intelligence had remained, had been useful as it made the Asset a fast learner, easy to train.  
After arriving at the tower, and gaining access to all the knowledge of the world through Friday, Yasha had been eager to study, picking up a wide range of subjects including several additional languages, and advanced classes in a few of the one he already spoke.  
His time with the Red Room had required him to be properly educated to be of use to instruct the future widows, and HYDRA had made sure to keep him current on at least a basic level with education and current events, probably to make sure he could blend in with ease if needed when observing a target.  
  


It was quite obvious though that obeying the order to maintain eye contact made it quite a bit harder, but the surge of heat through Tony's body as he worked made it well worth the extra wait, and seeing Yasha hard and weeping as he straightened back after finally managing to make the soft pants fall was a reward in it's own.  
  


“So eager, and yet so controlled.”  
  


While taking himself in hand Tony reached down and cupped Yasha's chin with his other hand, tilting his head back further than it already was in order to maintain eye contact.  
  


“It must be painful to be so hard and do nothing about it.”  
 _“Yes.”_  
  


Yasha answers calmly, but doesn't do anything to alleviate his discomfort, remaining as far as can be seen, fully submissive, but Tony knows him well enough by now to tell that he's still safely clear of the compliant state.  
  


“Be a good _Soldier_ and take care of this. If you do a good job there may just be a reward waiting for you.”  
  


Tony indicates toward his own aching hardon and groans as Yasha leans in, the heated breath only fanning the fire.  
  


“Ah ah, no hands.”  
  


It takes all of Tony's focus to tell Yasha off when he tries to reach around to steady him, and he can feel the soft whine of objection as Yasha obeys and grasps his own arms with more force than usual to make sure he won't fail to obey again.  
  


By the time Tony reached his end Yasha was barely holding on and he quickly reached his end as well when Tony instructed him to use the cybernetic arm to finish himself.  
  


“Mine.”  
  


Tony's soft whisper was every bit as possessive as Yasha's growled out claim had been before and the answer, equally soft, held nothing but absolute certainty.  
  


“ _Yours.”_  
“Yours.”  
  


Tony agrees as he curls into Yasha's side, sleep claiming him within moments.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Unreasonable Demands·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


It took a good few days for life at the tower to settle back into something resembling normal after Loki had left, but Tony was pretty sure the insane alien would be more than happy to give things a good shake whenever he got the time.  
  


“Boss, you have a call from the Council.”  
“What kind of call?”  
“A request for Iron Man to join a mission as on site tech support.”  
  


There was something in Friday's tone that set off all the bells in Tony's mind.  
  


“With Rogers and the Assholes?”  
“I'm afraid so Boss.”  
“Fucking hell!”  
  


Yasha watched Tony pace and curse for a good few minutes before stepping in to calm him down.  
  


“ _I thought they weren't supposed to put you in the same op as them?”_  
“They're not, but there are a few special cases where they can. Fri baby, did they include a proper briefing package?”  
“They did. It's a two team co-op to take down a large HYDRA base, intel indicates that it's a major tech site.”  
 _“Can't they just pick another second team?”_  
“Based on skill composition there are several combinations that would be just as good or better.”  
“Then why the fuck Rogers?”  
  


Tony offers Friday an apologetic smile after snapping at her.  
  


“There are apparently rumours that the Winter Soldier is being held at the location...”  
“So they are sending him in so he won't go off the reservation and go there without orders...”  
“Very likely. They also seem to be under the impression that Rogers alone can handle the Winter Soldier, and it appears they believe him to be some kind of expert at fighting HYDRA as well.”  
“Figures...”  
“I don't see why they believe so, he fought one branch of HYDRA for a while back in the 40's, but the HYDRA of today has very little in common with the Nazi offshoot Rogers faced back then.”  
 _“Seems some of the Accords people still believe in the legend of the great Captain America.”_  
  


The slight sneer on Yasha's face is a balm to Tony's mood, making him shake his head and sigh, he knew it wasn't really fair of him to take such joy in the fact that what remained of Rogers' old pal didn't particularly like what the man had become, but damn, it felt fucking good sometimes to know that Tony Stark had been picked over Steve Rogers, over Captain America.  
  


With the help of BARF Yasha had been recovering more and more memories, including a lot of the fragmented memories from _Bucky_.  
The memories had all been successfully integrated into Yasha's own memories, but he never felt any attachment to them, describing it like watching a movie, he remembered it but it wasn't him, they held no emotions, no value, no attachments.  
The memories that included Rogers mostly seemed to annoy him and would often leave him grumbling and questioning what kind of idiot had thought it to be a good idea to turn Rogers into Captain America.  
  


“Not much of a choice here if we want to keep the Accords people pliable. If they suspect I'm not all onboard it could spell trouble later on.”  
 _“I don't like it...”_  
“Join the club Frosty.”  
“Pretty sure I'm a founding member.”  
“Nothing but sass these days. I...”  
  


Whatever Tony had intended to say next turned into muffled grumblings as Yasha silenced him with a kiss.  
  


“Hey! That's not fair! No trying to distract...”  
  


Another kiss muffled the attempted complaint and this time when Yasha pulled back Tony settled for a glare which only made Yasha switch on his perfect murder face Winter Soldier glare which never failed to make Tony smile.  
  


“ _I don't trust them to keep you safe, we need contingencies.”_  
“I know, Snowflake, I know. “  
“At least some one there had enough brains to list you as Technical Support with a Class 3 civilian contractor rating.”  
  


Friday's addition made Yasha relax somewhat, as a Class 3 Tony would be considered a civilian with combat experience, his role would be as a non-combatant and not fully part of the usual chain of command, taking his primary orders from the assigned mission coordinator, not the field commander.  
As field commander Rogers would have authority over him in the event that the mission went south, but even then that authority would be limited, and secondary to the coordinator.  
  


“Fri, who's the coordinator for this gig?”  
“Codename: Midnight is the listed coordinator.”  
 _“She's good.”_  
“Yeah, scary good.”  
  


Midnight was a young mutant woman, or according to Yasha's observations, a girl, something Tony didn't doubt.  
Her mutation gave her a highly advanced tactical awareness and enhanced ability to process information on multiple levels to formulate advanced multi step strategies.  
Tony had seen her demonstrate her ability by playing 20 opponents at the same time in a mix of various strategy based games such as chess and go, and totally wiping them out despite playing against a very tight clock, and experienced players.  
Tony suspected her enhancement might be more than just processing speed and multitasking, he was leaning toward maybe some sort of precognition or maybe even an ability to manipulate apparent chance outcomes, her tactics were just too successful where chance or seemingly random events or were involved.  
  


“Remains to be seen how well Rogers will handle taking orders if he thinks he's got a lead on his precious _Bucky_ though.”  
  


Friday's concern did have merit considering how Rogers had acted last during the events of the so called Civil War.  
  


“At least we're aware of that little obsession of his now. That should help make him a bit more predictable, and Midnight knows this too so she should be able to mitigate his bullheadedness a bit.”  
 _”Assuming he doesn't just decide he knows best and doesn't need to listen to some little girl ordering him around.”_  
“There's always that, but if he goes down that road it could be really good for us. Would show that he's unstable and unable to work within a proper command structure. Not to mention probably end with him violating the terms of his pardon.”  
  


Tony didn't know all of the terms for the deal the Accords committee had made with Rogers, parts of it was unfortunately paper only, but he did know that there were a few clauses about obeying orders and unsanctioned missions.  
  


“Violation of terms could put him back in prison, or at least relegate him to reserve status only.”  
 _“Out of our way.”_  
“Mhm.”  
  


Tony knew that they would probably have to deal with Rogers and his little band of misfits sooner or later, but he preferred later, much later.  
  


“Boss, we don't have much time to make plans, wheels up in 20 hours.”  
“Of fucking course.”  
  


Fortunately Tony was used to thinking on his feet and Yasha had proven to have an excellent mind for making contingencies once he had started to get used to making choices of his own.  
It was quickly decided that Yasha would gear up and take the smaller stealth Quinjet together with Friday using the Wraith and the Eidolon, and follow at a safe distance, ready to intervene if shit hit the fan  
  


“Yasha, I want you with me through the cameras as well, Fri may be able to see everything, but you're better at reading people.”  
“I'm sorry Boss...”  
“Don't worry about it baby, you are still learning.”  
 _“Properly reading a person's intentions is a skill that takes years to master.”_  
“I'm trying...”  
“We know you are sweetie.”  
“Humans can be so confusing.”  
  


The grumbled complaint had both Tony and Yasha laughing, and agreeing with her.  
  


18 hours later Tony found himself setting his Quinjet down at the compound for a final briefing before they left for the base somewhere in eastern Europe, there was no detailed location provided in the orders.  
Despite being in his latest Iron Man armour he felt naked, exposed, without Yasha at his side, he had gotten so used to always having his solid presence at his side, or back.  
  


“Tony!”  
  


Tony couldn't keep a wry smile from forming as Rogers came barrelling toward him the moment the ramp lowered, though the smile did turn a bit more genuine at the sound of Yasha's growled out curses over the com.  
He was glad he had put the suit on before opening the ramp as his pulse picked up as Rogers and his team rapidly approached, the last thing he wanted was for them to notice his reactions.  
Ignoring Rogers he closed up the ramp and asked Friday to secure the craft, he wouldn't put it beyond Romanoff to try to tamper with it.  
  


“Tony!”  
“Captain, have you forgotten proper communications protocols already?”  
  


Tony couldn't help but feel a hint of a dark pleasure at lecturing Rogers about proper protocols, after all, Rogers had been one of those adamant that they only use their so called hero names while geared up for missions.  
  


“What the fuck Stark!”  
“Language Hawkeye.”  
  


For a moment it looked like Barton was going to take a swing but fortunately they were interrupted by the arrival of the second team.  
  


“Iron Man.”  
“Raider, Harpy, Scorpion, Gorgon. Good to have you with us.”  
  


The four man team all offered him neutral greetings, but without any disrespect, as far as he could tell they were just being professional about it and he returned their greetings in kind.  
  


“Midnight is ready for us.”  
  


Harpy, the second in command of the second team gestured toward the building and Tony found himself smiling at how silent and unassuming she sounded when not fighting, in combat her voice was her primary weapon, enhanced vocal cords allowing her to hit volumes and frequencies that could pulverize stone and liquefy metal, such as bullets.  
Scorpion's mutation gave him venomous claws in place of nails and the ability to create a wide range of venoms with various effects and a tough hide similar to a carapace.  
Gorgon was able to temporarily paralyse anyone who looked into her eyes, while Raider's enhancement was very similar to the effects of the Super Soldier Serum, paired with master level martial arts skills he could be a rather formidable opponent.  
It was actually a good choice for a team if you wanted to take down someone like Rogers or Yasha without killing them.  
  


“Tony you have to stop this nonsense, we need to talk!”  
  


Tony completely ignored Rogers in favour of falling into step with Raider and ask him a few questions about the Bōjutsu fighting style he favoured, and the Bō staff he used as his primary weapon.  
He trusted Yasha to warn him if it looked like any of the Rogues were going to try anything as he turned his back on them, completely ignoring their calls and curses.  
  


“ _The widow is definitely planning something.”_  
“She's always planning something, probably making plans for how to gain the most benefit of her talent for backstabbing and coat turning.”  
  


The nanites once again proved their worth as they allowed Tony to answer Yasha without speaking, no risk of anyone overhearing anything, though suit was mostly soundproofed it might not be around people with enhanced hearing.  
Tony was beyond bitter over Romanoff, when she sided with Rogers in the end it had cut him deep because he **knew** she understood the need to have a say in the Accords, he knew she wasn't one to follow blindly or succumb to hero worship.  
  


“Breathe котенок, don't let them get to you.”  
“I won't.”  
 _“Be careful...”_  
“I will.”  
“...”  
“Wish you were here...”  
 _“Me too...”_  
  


Yasha could feel the cold at the edges of his mind, the desire to fall into the Asset mindset to get away from how useless he was feeling.  
He wanted nothing more than to just land the Quinjet and join Tony, but he knew they couldn't risk pushing the Accords at this stage of things, they needed the people behind the Accords to believe they had Tony, and Iron Man, under full control.  
Their long term plans, especially now with the addition of the tentative alliance with Loki, depended on having the world believe itself in control, it was unfortunate, but they needed the nations of the world to accept a global oversight that could handle planetary defence.  
The actions of the WSC during the Battle of New York was still fresh in the mind of a lot of people, making them hesitant, but if they played the Accords right it would be possible to make the various nation feel as if it was their idea, make them push for it rather than resist it.  
  


As much as Yasha hated admitting it, HYDRA's intended methods for making the world hand over control to them had merit, it had been working until Pierce got greedy and rushed things with the launch of Project Insight.  
The main difference in their own plans, apart from the end goal, was that they would not be creating the fear and chaos, there was plenty of that going around anyway, they would be offering the solution and showing them that they needed more.  
Through the Accords they would push the idea that a global defence organisation was the only way to keep the world safe from major threats, an organisation above all national concerns, not quite a global government, but it would have to be pretty close in some areas.  
  


He resisted the urge to shake his head to clear his mind, focusing instead on the images being transmitted to him from the cameras in the Iron Man suit, focusing on what was happening in the briefing room.  
He nodded in silent approval when Tony took up position against the inner wall instead of sitting down, giving them both a clear view of the room and its occupants.  
  


The second team was quickly dismissed, Friday would keep an eye on them while Yasha focused on the Rogues.  
Wilson was a display of military focus and discipline, but the way his eyes would flick to Rogers every so often while Midnight spoke was telling, Wilson clearly considered Rogers the ultimate authority and would no doubt follow him no matter how ill advised the actions might be.  
Lang's face was a study of adoration and hero worship that painted a picture unnervingly close to fanaticism, the man would stop at nothing to try to prove himself to his hero.  
Barton didn't even try to hide his contempt and anger, constantly glaring at Tony, it did leave Yasha somewhat confused as to what had caused the man to go from neutral, even seeming tentatively friendly, to such hostility.  
Romanoff was putting on a mask of calm attention over a mask of feigned disinterest, playing herself off as acting the professional, but Yasha knew the ways of the Red Room, the layers of masks the girls had been taught to wear to hide their true intentions.  
  


Then there was Rogers, his focus entirely on Tony, trying to catch his eye despite the Iron Man faceplate between them.  
Yasha watched as Rogers' face cycled through the same handful of expressions over and over, there was the look of disappointment that shifted into something close to, but not quite, forgiveness tainted by expectation, something frustrated bordering on annoyance that was quickly hidden and replaced with an unsettling mix of righteousness and pleading.  
The feeling it gave Yasha was unsettling, it appeared that Rogers was half begging, half demanding that Tony see that he was wrong and Rogers right, expecting, demanding, that he come crawl back and apologise, seek forgiveness for being wrong.  
The way Rogers was behaving set off all kinds of alarms in Yasha's mind, it would seem Rogers himself had fully bought into the legend of Captain America, believing himself the righteous, always infallible, hero who could do no wrong.  
The lack of real consequences for his actions had only reinforced the delusion, making him dangerously convinced of his own worth and ability.  
The widow was displaying similar tendencies, but Yasha was unsure how much of it was a play on her side to evade paying for her actions and how much it was her truly believing herself indispensable, and again the way the world let her get away with it made her dangerous.  
Believing themselves always right, indispensable, not only made them reckless, it made them a threat to anyone who dared disagree, or disobey.  
  


For a moment he entertained a few thoughts, memories, of how the fragments of _Bucky_ , the one Rogers chased with such tenacity, had reacted to the current Rogers, recalling how the contradiction between the fragmented memories and Rogers action had been enough of a shock to shake the effects of HYDRA's conditioning.  
  


Even without any emotional connection to the recovered memories Yasha knew that _Bucky_ would have been appalled by the bully Rogers had turned into.  
His own feelings however were focused on the danger Rogers represented to Tony, both physically and emotionally, Rogers had already shown he had no qualms about using force against anyone who disagreed with him, even supposed friends and allies.  
  


Yasha still had frequent nightmares about the events in Siberia, about what the outcome could have been had the shock not allowed him to break from the compulsions, the way Rogers had prepared to fight, Yasha didn't think he would have held back.  
His nightmares would frequently end in visions of Rogers delivering a killing blow, but sometimes it was himself, compelled by the conditioning and recent triggering to follow Rogers and fight to kill, not subdue or evade.  
  


He silently scolded himself for almost allowing the thoughts to distract him from his mission, then with a soft whisper to Tony and Friday letting them know he needed the additional focus he forced himself to slip deeper into the emotionless safety of the compliant state.  
  


“Alright, be careful Soldier.”  
  


Tony's words sounded a bit off due to them not having been spoken, instead they were played in Tony's voice by Friday, making the emotional inflection slightly off, but the Asset knew exactly how they would have sounded.  
The tone would be gentle, concerned, carrying Tony's worry that the Asset would be too unconcerned about damaging himself, the Asset had long since determined that his current handler was prone to worrying too much.  
The Asset had received discretion to adjust his own mission parameters so he had made additions under the priority objective of protecting Tony Stark, including parameters to observe elevated care not to allow himself to incur avoidable damage even if it made the mission more complicated.  
  


“ _Complying.”  
_

Tony couldn't help being concerned when Yasha announced that he was intentionally going into the Asset mindset, wondering what had set it off this time, nowadays he usually only did that when he deemed his emotions to be a hindrance to completing whatever mission he was on.  
It always worried him that Yasha tended to be less concerned with his safety in that state, it wasn't really that he took more risks, it was more that he tended to value mission speed and efficiency higher than avoiding getting hurt.  
  


“Captain, this is not your call, the council has determined that **Iron Man** will be acting as technical support only during this operation.”  
  


Midnight's somewhat sharp tone brought Tony's attention back to the debate that had been going back and forth between her and Rogers.  
Rogers was insistent that Tony had to be placed under his direct command and not be allowed to act independently in any way, and Midnight was not pleased with the distraction from the briefing.  
To make it worse Rogers insisted on calling him Tony and the way Midnight put a bit of extra force into her words every time she said _Captain_ or _Iron Man_ was telling.  
  


“Tony is too unpredictable and rash to have him work alone!”  
“Captain! If you can't observe proper protocols I will have to ask you to leave the room.”  
“What?!”  
  


Rogers all but snapped at her, while also looking a bit confused, clearly not understanding what he was being reprimanded for.  
  


“All Accords signers involved in this operation will be addressed by their Accords associated codename.”  
  


Tony couldn't help smiling at the stubborn tick in Rogers' jaw as Midnight dressed him down for breaking protocol and using civilian names, she was tiny, but a total spitfire who didn't take shit from anyone.  
She actually reminded him a lot of Pepper, if Pepper had been a full head shorter, she had that same killer focus that would leave men twice her size shaking in their boots with just a look.  
  


“He!”  
  


Rogers pointed rather than submitting to proper address, showing off that bullheaded streak for all to see.  
  


“Is far too unpredictable to have in the field without someone keeping a close eye on him so he doesn't take off on his own or get into something he shouldn't. If he gets something in his head he just rushes straight on without any care for the risks to others, or himself, he needs someone there who can keep him in check.”  
  


By the time Rogers ended his rant he was on his feet, his breathing had picked up noticeably and he had shifted closer toward where Tony was standing, causing several warnings to flash from both Yasha and Friday.  
  


_\--Wow, projecting much?--_   
  


Friday's quip on one of the displays in the suit almost had Tony laughing.  
He didn't deny having a tendency to leap before looking, like that whole run before you can walk thing with the Mark II, but he wasn't an idiot, he had a pretty good idea of the scale of the potential fallout before acting.  
For the whole Ultron incident, the go to thing to bring up for Rogers and the Rogues, his ability to make rational decisions had been severely impaired.  
Between the visions Maximoff's powers had triggered, his PTSD, the long list of issues and complexes he had about never being good enough, and the influence of the mindstone he had been in a state of panic driven mania, not a condition that promotes rational thinking.  
  


“Captain, that's quite enough out of you, stand down or you and your unit will be pulled from this mission.”  
  


Even the barest hint at missing an opportunity of going after a possible lead on his precious _Bucky_ instantly has Rogers standing down, and Tony smiled at the rather off-colour comment in Russian from Yasha.  
With Rogers finally going with the program the briefing is quickly concluded and Tony has Friday check if the target location, in the middle of nowhere, Kazakhstan, is one of their known locations.  
  


“It's one of our locations from the Winter Soldier project files.”  
  


Friday quickly confirmed that the base, deemed too large for them to take on their own, was one of the backup locations for the Winter Soldier project, Yasha didn't have any distinct memories of having been there before, but they knew just seeing the area could trigger memories.  
  


“ _It's a backup location, but they will have at least one cryo-chamber, and a Chair...”_  
  


Even when in the compliant, emotionless, Asset mode there was a hint of something disturbingly close to fear in Yasha's voice as he mentioned that the location would include one of the Memory Suppression Machines.  
  


“I'll make sure it doesn't make it out of there, and that no one gets a chance to study it.”  
 _“I know.”_  
  


They had retrieved and studied one of the machines to great extent before trying to touch the triggers to see if it was in any way related to the process of implanting them.  
Just studying it had left Tony sick, the whole thing was an abomination, and he happily destroyed any trace of them he could get his hands on.  
Fortunately HYDRA were paranoid bastards so they tended to rig their fancier tech to blow if someone got into their bases.  
Tony of course had become really good at delaying the destruction, but this time he would make sure that the Chair and any occupied cryo-units were dusted, they couldn't risk anyone getting their hands on a working chair, or any HYDRA experiments deemed dangerous, or valuable, enough to keep on ice.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Unreasonable Demands·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


A muffled explosion sends a low rumble through the base as the explosives in the room set aside for the Winter Soldier project detonated and Tony found himself rather impressed with whoever had rigged it, they were clearly very skilled with explosives.  
The explosion completely obliterated the contents of the room without causing major structural damage, even the door remained mostly undamaged despite not being a proper blast door, just a regular steel door, it was slightly dented, but as far as the security feed could see it was still functional.  
Even the heavy duty, shielded, cameras in the chair room take some serious damage from the blast, but enough of them remain for Tony to be able to tell that there will be no recovering the equipment inside.  
  


“What the fuck was that?”  
“To.. Iron Man, you were supposed to be on top of the explosives!”  
“Sorry about that Cap, it seems they put anything Winter Soldier related on a separate system, not linked to the main system.”  
  


Tony of course wasn't the least bit sorry, and no one would be able to find any evidence that his statement was anything but the complete truth.  
  


“Was anyone in there?”  
  


Romanoff at least kept some semblance of cool while Rogers was yelling and fretting in the background, demanding to know if _Bucky_ had been in the room.  
  


“According to the camera feed the room was empty, and both cryo-units were open.”  
  


He listens in as Romanoff talks Rogers down and it quite frankly gives him the creeps and he realises that it's that almost constant vulnerability in the tone of her voice, in her words, that sets him off, something he now recognizes as being false, a weapon to keep others off guard.  
  


“Iron Man, we're ready for you at the eastern entrance.”  
  


Tony is relieved when it's Raider that gives him the call to enter the base, he had quite frankly been close to panicking at the idea of having to work with one or more of the Rogues in the room.  
When he enters the main computer room Harpy is there waiting for him and as he starts working she starts singing some sort of a lullaby that quickly has him relaxing.  
  


“I could hear your heart, been around enough to know the signs of an anxiety attack.”  
“Thanks.”  
  


It would seem Harpy had hearing to match her vocal abilities, something that was not listed on her Accords profile, so letting him know she had heard his heartbeat was a show of trust.  
The easy way she spoke about knowing the signs of an impending attack was actually calming, no trace of judgement.  
  


“Many of us, especially those like Scorpion, are safer now thanks to your work with the Accords.”  
  


He almost startled when she spoke up again, all of his attention focused on picking the computers apart, trusting Yasha and Friday to keep him safe.  
  


“That's good to hear.”  
“You got rid of Ross and put a stop to the registration acts.”  
“I had a lot of help with that.”  
  


Tony didn't want to risk going too far into details, if her hearing was as advanced as he had begun to suspect chances were that she would be able to pick up on the signs of a lie the same way Yasha could, and if she had been living on the run before the Accords she had probably trained herself pretty damn well to pick up any cues that could indicate danger.  
Yasha was pretty much a living lie-detector, his enhanced senses allowing him to pick up on even the slightest tell, including changes in scent, but he did pretty damn good with only listening as well, even over the coms where he could only hear the voice..  
  


“I understand.”  
  


For a moment Harpy was silent, then she started asking questions about what Tony was doing as he walked from room to room, checking computers and various files and equipment to make sure there were no traps and that it would be safe for the regular techs to handle.  
  


When Rogers showed up and demanded that he and the Avengers should be the ones to keep an eye on Tony he found himself once again struggling not to panic, and Harpy gave him a rather worried look when he closed up the helmet again.  
She typed something on her wrist computer and moments later an order from Midnight came through, telling Rogers to take his team and help secure the perimeter as their unit had both aerial and sniper support.  
For a moment it looked like Rogers was going to defy the order, but a few touches and whispered words from Romanoff had him walking off with a huff.  
  


“They trigger you...”  
“They do, a lot of bad history there.”  
“The fight over the Accords?”  
“It was about a lot more, nothing of which I like talking about.”  
  


Tony turned back to the partially assembled weapon on the table in front of him, trying to determine its function.  
  


“They don't trust you, but I get the feeling they were the ones to betray your trust, not the other way around.”  
“Please...”  
  


The slight edge to his voice, detectable even through the suit speakers, had her raising her hands in surrender before returning to asking him to explain what he was doing.  
He didn't mind the steady flow of questions, they weren't laced with suspicion as Rogers' constant questions had been after Ultron, all he got from her was curiosity, and Yasha seconded his assessment.  
It didn't take long before the conversation drifted into the topic of education.  
  


“Any particular area you're interested in?”  
“I always wanted to study Psychoacoustics...”  
“To learn how to use your vocal abilities to affect people?”  
“Yes, right now I can disable, or kill, with a sonic blast, but I think I could do a lot more.”  
“You want to study how different frequencies of sound can affect people, how to confuse, incite fear, make someone happy, sad, calm, or even induce sleep?”  
“Yes.”  
“Have you thought about looking into the medical applications for sound? There's a lot of pretty cool stuff they do with sound nowadays.”  
“Can't say that I have...”  
“How about I put together a few suggestions and have your Accords coordinator give them to you?”  
“I...”  
“In case you have missed it, I do manage a lot of foundations and scholarships, some of them are specifically tailored for enhanced individuals who want to learn more about subjects related to their abilities.”  
“Thank you.”  
  


It took almost five hours to secure the tech at the base to the point where Tony felt it would be safe to let the techs from the reformed SHIELD and various similar groups under the Accords have access to the site.  
  


Tony completely ignored Rogers' calls about needing to talk as he walked out to the open area in front of the base and waited for Yasha to bring the smaller Quinjet closer.  
  


“My ride's here. See ya stateside.”  
  


Moments later the retro-reflective panels on the Quinjet disengaged as it came down low enough for the engines to start kicking up some noticeable winds.  
Friday had already moved the Wraith armour into one of the storage compartments and the moment Tony stepped out of his current suit she manoeuvred it to the second compartment while he joined Yasha, now wearing the Blade mask, in the cockpit.  
  


“Tony!”  
“Stark!”  
  


The calls were mercifully cut of as the cockpit slid closed, allowing Tony to take a few calming breaths while enjoying the silence.  
  


“ _Are you okay?”_  
“Hey, you watched the feed, no fights for me to get hurt in.”  
 _“That doesn't mean you are okay.”_  
“Persistent, aren't we?”  
 _“Very, so you may as well answer.”_  
  


Tony huffed, he knew there would be no point trying to dodge Yasha's inquiries, so instead he settled down and began talking about his reactions to being on site with the Rogues and the briefing before they headed out.  
He could tell from the shift in the replies and questions that Yasha had slipped back out of the Asset state, probably to be able to better respond to the emotional reactions now that he deemed that they were safe.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Unreasonable Demands·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Tony was infinitely grateful when Midnight only requested him to attend the debriefing on a video link, sparing him the stress of having to be in the same room as the Rogues, not that it kept them from sniping and making all kinds of demands.  
Most of the demands are completely irrelevant to the debriefing and are focused on trying to get Tony put under Rogers' command, supervision, Iron Man is mentioned more as an afterthought.  
  


“Tony needs to have someone with him to offer guidance, someone to make sure he takes the proper steps before trying anything dangerous.”  
  


_**Someone needs to hold his leash and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, like make another Ultron.**_   
  


What Rogers' is really trying to say comes through loud and clear, even without Barton's quips, whispered just a bit too loud, in the background.  
  


“He needs to have someone at his side to help him focus on what's important and not lose himself to distractions.”  
  


_**Someone has to make sure he focuses on doing what I want him to do, creating and maintaining equipment for the real Avengers.**_   
  


“With all due respect Captain, Dr Stark not only runs the R&D department of a Fortune 500 multidiscipline technology company, pioneering most of their inventions and patents himself, he's also in charge of all of Team Phantom's operations.”  
  


The Accords representative was quite clearly not amused by the constant digressions from the debriefing.  
  


“Tony doesn't always consider how his actions would affect others, or how they reflect on him or the people trying to protect the world.”  
  


_**He doesn't always do things the way I want them to be done so I need to be there so I can make sure he doesn't do anything I don't like.**_   
  


“Stark's moral compass isn't always the most reliable...”  
  


_**Tony can't be trusted to do what is right so someone has to be there to control what he does.**_   
  


Romanoff's addition, delivered with a soft tone of concern that was no doubt all fake, made Yasha scoff and grumble a few less than flattering comments about her sense of morals in Russian, something that fortunately wasn't picked up by Tony's microphone.  
  


“If this meeting is going to be about how the members of Team Epsilon 4 believe I should be living my life, or rather, how they feel they should be running my life, then I would prefer to sign out now, I do after all have a day job.”  
“My apologies Dr Stark. If you would give me a moment.”  
  


The representative turned to Rogers and informed him in no uncertain terms that any further digressions would not be tolerated and Rogers quickly promised there would be no more sidetracks.  
The promise lasted all but 5 minutes before Rogers went on another tangent about how Midnight should have assigned the Avengers to watch over Tony instead of making them secure the perimeter, stating that Raider and his team didn't know Tony well enough to keep him out of trouble.  
  


Tony didn't even wait for the representative to say anything, he just disconnected the outgoing feed, keeping the incoming feed up to see the reactions.  
  


As expected Rogers was livid, going on a massive speech about how it proved that Tony needed supervision, Barton was adding his own venomous barbs about selfishness and childish behaviour, backed by Romanoff mentioning Tony's ego making him tough to work with.  
Tony didn't deny that he was acting a bit childish, but he didn't want to spend all day listening to the Rogues going on about how and why the Accords should allow them to run his life.  
  


_\--I'm terribly sorry about that Dr Stark, if you would put together a summarised mission report and send it to my office I will make sure it's added with the others.--_   
  


The text message from the coordinator came through while Rogers was still holding a righteous monologue about Tony's inability to follow the proper chain of command.  
  


_\--You will have it by lunch tomorrow, please don't hesitate to forward any questions, or requests for additions/clarification to Friday.--_   
  


The soft ding of the message alert had Rogers glaring at the coordinator for not paying full attention to him.  
  


_\--Thank you Dr Stark.--_   
  


Tony watched as the coordinator reminded Rogers that he was not Tony's superior, that Tony was in fact not part of the same chain of command at all, before demanding that they continue the debriefing.  
  


“ _Do you really have to keep watching this?”_  
  


Yasha's hands on his shoulders while he watched the debriefing worked wonders to soothe Tony's tension.  
  


“Well, I don't **have** to, but it'll help make sure I get everything they want covered in my report.”  
 _“Showing them that you don't need to be supervised to do things properly.”_  
“Exactly.”  
 _“Sneaky, I approve.”_  
“Had a feeling you would.”  
 _“You will make a fine Wolf Spider when I'm done teaching you.”_  
  


Tony couldn't help laughing at the pride in Yasha's voice, lately he had decided that he needed to teach Tony how to be a proper spy.  
  


It was clearly a side effect of Yasha's recent focus on his memories from the time he spent with the Red Room, training the girls who had been gathered for the Black Widow Program.  
During those sessions they had also uncovered memories of a sister-project for the Black Widow Program, or maybe brother-project would be more fitting as the second project was focused on training males, codename Wolf Spider.  
As far as they could tell from Yasha's memories the program had failed rather spectacularly, only producing a single graduate, and he had been insane, making the Russians scrap the program and cover any traces of it having ever existed.  
  


“Maybe we should focus on a few extra lessons in Honeypot techniques when I'm done with this report?”  
  


The teasing suggestion rewards Tony with an amused huff before Yasha leans in and starts trailing kisses along his neck.  
  


“ _I think perhaps we should start with how to resist temptation and control your reactions.”_  
“Whatever did I do to deserve such a cruel teacher?”  
 _“Students who excel in their lessons may be rewarded.”_  
  


Tony barely has time to process the meaning of the whispered words before he's painfully hard and it takes quite a bit of effort to stay focused on the briefing and his report, especially with Yasha whispering all kinds of suggestions in his ear, the voice alone enough to send Tony mind spinning, never mind the actual words.  
  


“I'm gonna go fucking insane if you keep this up.”  
  


Yasha made sure Tony kept his hands on the desk, and no squirming allowed, teasing him with whispered words and barely there nips and kisses along his neck.  
  


“ _Tell me, how far would you go right now just for a touch? What would you be willing to tell me for even a hint of friction?”  
_

Tony just groaned, he knew exactly what Yasha was playing at, a very different kind of torture that could be every bit as effective as pain or fear, especially as the victim wouldn't even recognize it as being torture.  
He managed to keep from answering the teasing question, closing his mouth with audible click, then he cursed silently to himself as Yasha fucking purred against his neck, praising his resilience.  
  


“Can't we just start with the theory instead?”  
 _“Oh, and here I thought you favoured running before walking.”_  
“Hey, no fair using my own words against me!”  
  


Much to Tony's frustration Yasha just kept nuzzling against his neck, totally ignoring his complaints.  
  


“ _Anything is fair when it comes to making sure you can protect yourself...”_  
“Fuck...”  
  


Tony bit back a groan as the soft words sent a shiver down his spine followed by the familiar buzz as his mind blanked out with his release.  
  


“ _My my, coming untouched just from my voice and a few kisses. Looks like you need a lot more lessons to earn that reward.”_  
“You're a cruel bastard, you know that?”  
 _“Ah, you always have such sweet words for me.”  
“Soldier...”  
“Yes?”_  
“Shut up and kiss me.”  
“As you wish котенок.”  
  


If Friday could she would have sighed, instead she just closed the display with the feed from the debriefing, she was already recording it anyway, and saved the report while lowering the lights to a more comfortable level, she would remind Tony about the report at dinner.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Unreasonable Demands·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Boss there is an incoming request for a video conference on a secure line from the Accords centre in DC.”  
  


Tony yelped, then cursed as Yasha took full advantage of the distraction to slip past his guard, drop low and send him flying with a shoulder tackle as he straightened up.  
Ever since they had confirmed that Phoenix had enhanced his physical ability, including durability and healing, Yasha had begun putting Tony through a gruelling training regime, pushing him to reach the limit of his new ability.  
It was exhausting, and often painful, but despite his complaining Tony loved it, he could tell he was getting stronger, faster, better, and the massages after an extra punishing session was definitely a selling point.  
  


“Fuck...”  
  


Looking up Tony was faced with a gun aimed at his face, and beyond the gun, a gleaming arm and a teasing grin, a moment later a pair of small, sticky, dye rounds hit his forehead.  
  


“ _Distraction kills.”_  
  


Yasha was still smiling as he put the training gun away and stepped up, offering Tony his hand to help him up.  
  


“No kidding...”  
  


Tony accepted the offered hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet before focusing on Friday's message.  
  


“Who's requesting it?”  
“It's Raider and his team..”  
“Alright, check if it's okay with them in half an hour.”  
“Alright Boss.”  
  


It only took a few seconds before Friday relayed the message that Raider and his team would be waiting for the call in one of the teleconference rooms.  
  


“Guess we better hit the showers and get decent.”  
 _“Always eager to get out of training.”_  
“Hey! I'm not **that** bad!”  
“If you say so.”  
“I say so.”  
“Sure sure.”  
“Asshole.”  
“Love you too котенок.”

Tony paused for a moment as Yasha turned and headed to the showers, that was the most English he had heard him speak for weeks.  
The whole language bit was still a bit of a mess, and a sore subject.  
Yasha didn't really like talking about it and Tony didn't want to push, but as far as he could tell Yasha's choice to speak Russian was part of his ongoing struggle to secure a sense of self, of identity and independence.  
Speaking English seemed to remind him too much of his earlier attempts to use the fragmented memories from _Bucky_ to try to act as he believed was expected of him.  
He did well with the usually rather thick Russian accent, but every now and then something would slip out with a distinct Brooklyn twang, usually small quips or endearments such as _Punk_ or _Doll_ , which would leave Yasha distressed and closed off.

Tony couldn't help but put most of the blame for that on Rogers, even during the short time they had been on the run together after the bombing Rogers had been pushing Yasha to be the _Bucky_ he remembered, he may not have been overt about it, or even actually aware of it himself, but Yasha of course had noticed.  
Yasha, having been on the run from HYDRA and pretty much every government and agency out there, had responded the only way he could think of, by pretending to be what Rogers wanted him to be, which had ended up getting the memories tangled with the compulsions.  
Getting triggered, forcing him back into the Asset mindset with the conditioned self image of being nothing but a tool, a weapon to be wielded, then being further exposed to Rogers' expectations of how he should behave while still affected by the lingering compulsions from the compliant state had really done a number on Yasha.

“ _Blade or Ghost?”_

Yasha held up the different masks, asking Tony to decide which identity he should be wearing for the call.

“Doesn't really matter, just go with whichever you feel more comfortable with.”  
“Acknowledged.”

Tony watched as he set the Ghost mask aside and grabbed the Blade mask and pulled on the light tactical gear before securing the mask.

“So, care to share your reasoning for picking Blade?”

Yasha tilted his head slightly, as always his body language was intentionally a bit more expressive while masked and somewhere private.

“ _Others don't question it when Blade stays close, or touches you.”_  
“As good a reason as any I guess.”

Tony didn't even try to keep the fond smile from spreading knowing Yasha had made his choice to ensure no one would think twice about it if he stayed close, or even touched.  
It was more or less public knowledge that Blade, as Tony's bodyguard, also helped him manage his PTSD, which frequently included physical contact to help him stay grounded and work through panic attacks, it had been quite the media frenzy when Tony decided to go public with his PTSD.  
And Tony hadn't bothered refuting the stories the various gossip rags kept running about him taking his bodyguard as a lover either, it was after all, true, even if their relationship hadn't actually turned truly sexual until **very** recently.

“Boss, Raider is ready and waiting for us to connect the call.”

Friday's announcement brought Tony out of his thoughts and he quickly nodded for her to go ahead.

“Dr Stark, Blade, thank you for taking the call.”  
“Raider, team.”

Greetings were quickly exchanged with minimal pleasantries tacked on.

“So, what can I do for you guys?”

Tony didn't doubt that there was something they wanted from him, and much to his relief they didn't beat around the bush, instead opting to go straight to the point.

“You have access to the world's most advanced investigation resources.”  
“I do.”  
“We want to know if there is any way we could hire you for a more personal inquiry.”  
“Depends on what you want me to investigate.”

He watched as Raider turned to Gorgon and exchanged a look that clearly held a lot of meaning, then after a few seconds the woman nodded and stepped forward.

“Five years ago I was held by a HYDRA cell researching enhanced individuals, aiming to produce soldiers with abilities.”

She was shaking noticeable as she took a few rapid breaths and swallowed before continuing.

“While I was at the facility I was, bred, and I...”

Tony could feel himself pale at her words, and at that moment the only thing he wanted more than to comfort her was to wipe out whatever HYDRA trash had been involved in that particular atrocity in the most painful way possible.  
He didn't need to look to know that Yasha was feeling the same way.

“The attempt was successful and I gave birth to twin girls, both inheriting my mutation.”  
“Fuck...”

Her entire posture, the tone of her voice, the forced blankness of her face, told Tony all he needed to know.

“They still have them, and you want my help to find them, and if needed, Phantom to free them.”  
“Yes, but we have nothing to offer in return.”

The total lack of pretence or attempts at baiting him was refreshing.

“Saving people from HYDRA is it's own reward. Can you come to New York right away?”  
“We can.”  
“Alright. Fri, initiate launch prep.”  
“Yes Boss.”  
“You guys, grab whatever stuff you need, we'll come pick you up.”  
“Thank you Dr Stark.”  
“Don't thank me just yet. We have no idea if I'll even be able to find any information.”  
“You're willing to try, that alone is worth more than we can ever repay.”

Instead of saying anything else Tony just turned his back and ended the call with a simple thought before heading toward the elevator where Yasha was already waiting for him.

“ _We have a better chance of success than most.”_

Yasha's words are reassuring, his tone is confident, but without offering false hope, they are both aware of just how slim their chances are to not just find the kinds, but get them out as well, assuming they are even alive to begin with.  
And even if they get them out there is no telling what kind of damage HYDRA may have done to them.

“I know.”

Yasha didn't mention it, but he was hoping that a chance to work a bit with a proper team without the pressure of the Accords would give Tony a chance to take another step towards healing.  
He wasn't about to drop his guard though, if he sensed even the slightest breath of betrayal he would get Tony out of there.


	12. Beneath the Surface

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a few hints at childhood trauma and brief mention of psychological abuse/indoctrination of children, but nothing detailed.

.·:*¨¨*:· Beneath the Surface·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


With Tony's private Quinjet DC was just a quick hop away and before long Tony and Yasha were bringing their impromptu guests to one of the conference floors, the floor was part of the SI section of the tower and the elevators were not connected to the ones that had access to the penthouse, previous Avengers floors, or the lair and the secure floors connected to it.  
They would have to either go down to the main lobby, or the sky lobby to access those elevators, and access was restricted and well guarded by both security staff and Friday.  
  


Tony indicated toward one of the smaller conference rooms and Yasha motioned for Raider and his team to wait until Tony had entered.  
The way Harpy kept looking toward his left set Yasha on edge a bit, it was quite obvious that she heard the mechanics of the arm as he moved, but hopefully she and her teammates would deem finding the children more important than trying to look into him.  
  


“Fri, secure the room.”  
“On it Boss.”  
  


It only took a few seconds for Friday to make sure no one had left any surprises in the room and once clear Yasha nudged the others inside.  
  


“So, I'm going to need all the information you have, even the slightest scrap can help.”  
  


Tony didn't beat around the bush and Raider quickly handed a decently thick file and a titanium case portable drive over to Yasha who placed the file next to Tony then placed the drive in a dock on the table.  
Tony didn't need to tell Friday to scan the drive, she initiated the scan the moment the drive was placed in the dock, and once done the dock flashed green.  
  


“The drive is clean.”  
“Copy all data to a secure partition and cross reference to Phantom files.”  
“Estimated processing time, 6 minutes.”  
“Alright, scan and compile this stuff.”  
  


Tony started spreading the contents of the folder across the table to let Friday scan it and give it to him in a format that was more manageable.  
  


“ _Wait, that photo.”_  
  


Yasha's interruption while Tony sorted through a bunch of grainy photos instantly had everyone's attention, especially Raider and his team as Blade was supposed to be a mute, but none of them made any comments to it.  
  


“This one?”  
 _“Yes.”_  
“Someone you recognize?”  
 _“He is called Shiva, a big name in underground death matches. He has been known to buy enhanced specimens from various projects to present as special entertainment.”_  
  


It quickly became obvious that no one on Raider's team spoke Russian so Friday brought screens to life, translating Yasha's words as soon as he spoke.  
  


“Fri, put this one on priority processing, global facial recognition. Don't care if you have to kick down a few doors to have a look.”  
“Got it Boss.”  
  


Friday still had a lot of growing to do, but thanks to the way Phoenix allowed her to interface with Tony's brain she was growing at unprecedented rates, her ability to slip past firewalls and security systems had caught up to, and surpassed, Jarvis in a matter of hours once the new arc reactor had been connected to the nanites.  
If she ran into something tough she could reach out for Tony, and he could join her, his mind, her processors and AI code, if a computer system had any form of remote access it was vulnerable to them.  
Mobile phones with cameras, traffic and street cameras, ATMs, store security, banks and government buildings, cameras were everywhere, and with a thought, a reach of code, they all became Friday's eyes.  
  


While Tony went through the file with his usual energetic flourish Yasha watched Raider and his team, keeping an extra eye on Gorgon and Harpy, Gorgon to gauge her emotions as was more likely to display reactions that could give him information, and Harpy to try to read her reactions to figuring out his arm.  
  


“Tada!”  
  


Yasha couldn't help smiling behind the mask when Tony raised his hands in his usual theatrical gesture as the holographic displays came to life around him, showing him all the data from the files and the drive.  
As always it was quite the stunning sight to see Tony manipulate the displays with fluid motions, his very own dance, something that Yasha very much enjoyed watching.  
He could tell from the way Tony's movement gradually settled down that he was almost done sorting the information the way he wanted it.  
  


“Alright, I think I have this mess sorted enough to start actually working on it.”  
  


Yasha was very pleased to see the way Raider and his team interacted with Tony, they listened while he spoke, Scorpion actually put his hand up when Tony went a bit too technical and he couldn't keep up.  
The entire interaction was respectful and calm, or at least as calm as things could be when Tony got into a serious mood.  
  


“I wish I could remember more about the place where they kept us...”  
“Hey, don't beat yourself up over that, you were in extreme distress, and drugged up, that kind of stuff can really mess with your memories.”  
  


Tony quickly stepped up and damn near scolded Gorgon for blaming herself.  
  


“I wish I at least had something useful...”  
 _“You may have a lot more than you think...”_  
  


Friday's translation was almost instant and Yasha could see that Tony had already locked onto the same line of thought.  
  


“BARF, of course!”  
“What?”  
  


The confusion, as expected, was total and Tony once again reminded himself he really needed to find a better name.  
  


“Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing, essentially it makes it possible to hack the brain and access specific memories, replaying them in a way that allows you to alter them. It has potential to be a treatment for PTSD. But it can also be used to pull out memories that have been buried by trauma.”  
“So it can help me remember more?”  
“It's possible, but it's a bit of a long shot.”  
“Please, I want to try...”  
“Alright.”  
  


There was quite a bit of confusion as the first thing Tony did was to scare up a load of snacks and various comfort foods, but Yasha was well aware of why he did it, BARF sessions could be seriously draining, both to watch and to go through.  
The snacks were quickly joined by simple foods that were suitable to eat when vomiting a lot.  
He found himself hoping that Gorgon's memories wouldn't be quite as bad as his own, but at the same time he knew that even if they were far from as bad as his own the impact of them would most likely be much worse.  
  


Yasha listened with half an ear as Tony explained what would be happening and Gorgon quickly decided that Raider would be joining her in the BARF room along with Tony while the others would remain in the observation room next door.  
  


“I would suggest letting Blade join us as well, he has a lot of experience with dealing with some seriously crappy shit though BARF. In fact, he's currently the most experienced user of the system.”  
  


It wasn't the entire reason why Tony wanted Yasha there though, since Yasha remembered the man, Shiva, there was a chance that he had been at the facility where Gorgon had been kept at some point, and seeing her memories of it could trigger his own memories.  
  


“Okay...”  
“I really do wish I could teach one of your friends to do this, but to use BARF like this, it's half intuition, I have to adjust and recode on the fly. It's not something that can be taught to someone who isn't intimately familiar with the coding.”  
  


Tony was intensely uncomfortable with the whole situation, he had a pretty good idea what kind of things they would be seeing in her memories, having seen similar things before, in Yasha's memories, really didn't make it any easier.  
If anything her memories would be worse to experience, there would be a lot more emotion involved as Yasha's triggers had left him in a dissociative state, there was no associated fear, anger, pain, disgust or anything else when working on his memories.  
It still left Tony sick every time they worked on them and he knew this would probably be just as bad despite him not having a personal, emotional, connection to Gorgon.  
  


“I don't care if the whole world is watching if it gets me answers.”  
 _“Hold on to that courage, you will need it. The process can be very disturbing.”_  
  


Yasha was well aware that it would be harder for her than it had been for him, she didn't have the benefit of being able to completely compartmentalize and disassociate from her emotions to deal with them in smaller, more manageable pieces.  
As much as he hated what HYDRA had done to him, the conditioning and training did leave him with some useful tools he could use to protect himself and Tony, and the skills he needed to burn them to the ground and salt the ashes.  
  


“Okay, let's begin.”  
  


Tony carefully guided her through the process, leading her back through her memories to look for any clue that could help them.  
It was tough and it didn't take long before everyone was grateful that Tony kept the supply of emesis bags topped up in the BARF room.  
  


“I know there's a really shitty pun in there, but I learned the hard way that BARF sessions with trauma victims makes keeping barf bags on hand a very good idea.”  
  


As horrible of a pun as it was it actually made Gorgon offer a wry smile which made it well worth it.  
Tony waited for her to catch her breath a bit before offering her and Raider small bowls with a runny rice congee with banana and apple sauce along with bottles of rehydration solution.  
  


“I know you don't feel like it, but you need to eat and drink something.”  
“Just gonna come back up again next run...”  
“I know, but it's better than vomiting bile, that really sucks, trust me. And BARF can really mess with those electrolytes so gotta keep 'em topped off.”  
  


Tony was hoping Gorgon would be able to keep things down, she had been vomiting a lot less than Raider, but if she couldn't keep it down he would suggest an IV if the sessions continued.  
A quick look at Yasha told Tony that he had most likely retreated to the deeper, compliant, part of the Asset mindset to dissociate from the scenes being displayed, but without seeing his eyes Tony couldn't confirm the suspicion.  
The fact that Yasha was standing in parade rest without any signs of tension was a pretty good indicator though.  
  


After a few moments of hesitation Gorgon took the offered bowl and slowly emptied it before setting the bowl aside and taking a few swigs from the bottle.  
  


“Thanks... I actually feel a bit better now.”  
“Good, we'll wait a few more minutes before we start again. And remember, just say the word if you need to take a break, maybe have a walk, a nap, some fresh air. Or just some time to huddle up with the others. Whatever helps you cope.”  
“Not yet.”  
“It's your call. But overdoing it won't help anyone.”  
  


Tony steadily grew increasingly impressed by Gorgon's tenacity and sheer mental stamina, perhaps there was some truth to the stories of mothers performing superhuman feats to protect or save their children.  
In the end he had to call an end to the sessions though, she kept pushing and pushing but all they were getting was disjointed fragments and static, and quite frankly, he was about to collapse himself.  
  


“I don't think we will be getting much more than we already have from this thread, you were simply too out of it to notice any details, and BARF can't recover information that was never registered in the first place.”  
“Okay...”  
“We should get some rest, then we can have a look at more of the memories from inside the base, there may be a face or document that you saw that can give us something to go on.”  
  


The suggestion that they rest was quickly accepted and Tony showed them to one of the upper guest floors, just like the conference floor it wasn't connected to the private floors, a wing of small but luxurious rooms with ensuite bathrooms and a kitchenette , a communal kitchen and common areas with with all the comforts and entertainments.  
  


“If you need anything just ask Friday, she can order food and groceries to be delivered, ready a car for you and stuff like that.”  
“Thank you Dr Stark.”  
“See ya in the morning then.”  
“Good night Dr Stark.”  
“Please, I think we're deep enough into this shit together for you to call me Tony.”  
  


There were a few silent nods, and shared looks, but no one offered their names just yet which Tony fully understood, after all, everyone knew who he was, it was just a matter of address, they still had identities to protect.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Beneath the Surface·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


The moment Tony and Yasha left the sky lobby and the doors of the private elevator closed Tony found himself against the wall, kept in place by Yasha's solid bulk.  
  


“ _How are you feeling?”_  
“Like crap, but I'll manage.”  
 _“Not overdoing it applies to you too.”_  
“I know. But she needs to do this, not just to chase leads to find her kids, but to feel that she's useful. And I'll be damned if I don't at least try my best to keep up.”  
 _“I understand, but pushing too hard and making mistakes won't help anyone.”_  
“...”  
  


Tony was more than happy to try to escape as the elevator doors opened, trying to pull away before Yasha could push any further, but unfortunately Yasha wasn't having any of it, pinning him back against the wall as soon as they were out of the elevator.  
He was far more gentle about it than usual, caging Tony with his arms and only using the slightest pressure of his body to pin him.  
Usually he would either place his entire cybernetic arm across Tony's chest or splay the hand across the reactor and apply a fair amount of pressure, holding him securely in place.  
Right now the pressure was barely there and the elbows on each side of his head would be easy to duck under.  
  


Tony could feel his heart racing as he tried to gauge Yasha's mood, but with the Blade mask on it was damn near impossible as the reflective lenses completely hid his eyes, but Tony could feel the slight tremble and laboured breath even with the barely there contact.  
He carefully raised his hand and reached around to remove the mask and the moment it fell away Yasha's head dropped down, placing his forehead against Tony's, keeping the same pressure as with the rest of his body.  
  


Feeling Yasha's solid heat against him, and the breaths against his face, Tony sought out those eyes that always seemed to hold all the answers, he found them glazed and unfocused, but a moment later they focused and Tony felt his breath escape him as his arms dropped to his sides, mask falling forgotten to the floor.  
There was something vulnerable in those eyes, it wasn't the sharp and jagged vulnerability of someone who has been broken a few times too many, instead it was something soft but almost desperate, something he had never seen before.  
Tony didn't know how long they had been standing there, eyes locked, just breathing, before the odd feeling became too much and he spoke up.  
  


“Yasha?”  
  


The single, tentative word, was enough to break whatever spell it was that kept them from moving and Yasha slid down to his knees, but it wasn't the usual pose of the compliant state, instead he wrapped his arms tightly around Tony's waist before burrowing his face into his stomach.  
Tony allowed his shoulders to slump against the wall, forming a counterpoint to Yasha's grip that allowed him to relax and keep his balance, for a moment he just stood there, enjoying the closeness, then his hands came up and he started running his fingers through Yasha's hair, enjoying the softness between calloused fingers.  
  


“Let me see those pretty eyes.”  
  


Tony gently hooked a finger under Yasha's chin, but didn't apply any pressure beyond letting him feel the touch.  
It took quite a while before Yasha shifted his position slightly and looked up.  
  


“There you are. What's on your mind?”  
  


The emotions playing across Yasha's face made Tony smile, sometimes he was amazed at just how much warmth he could find in those subtle expressions, it had taken him a while to see past the chill of Yasha's resting bitch face, or rather, resting murder face, but now he could see it clear as day.  
  


“ _The next session, I should go in with her.”_  
  


Yasha's words gave Tony pause, he understood where he was coming from, they had experimented with joint sessions and the effect was quite powerful when it came to dealing with memories that were hard to face.  
  


“If we do that they will know who you are.”  
“I know.”  
“Alright, your secret, your choice.”  
 _“If giving up that secret can save even one kid from HYDRA, it's well worth it.”_  
  


Despite the grim reason it made Tony happy to see Yasha showing such strong emotion and determination about a choice.  
  


“ _I can't risk leaving a child to suffer a fate like my own just to protect myself. I was a ghost story for half a century, I can become one again if that's what it takes.”_  
“Or we could just make those legal and PR people I have on retainer work for their money and get you exonerated for what HYDRA forced you to do, and pardoned for the crap while you were on the run.”  
  


Tony had massive files prepared to get Yasha free, detailed records of everything HYDRA had done to him, and with Friday's help some information had already been leaked onto various Darknets as well as into various Deep web sites, telling the story of how HYDRA took a hero and broke him, took his will away and turned him into a mindless weapon.  
  


“...”  
“If anyone deserves that it's you.”  
  


Yasha's silent guilt made Tony want to burn anyone and anything involved in making him feel that way.  
  


“ _If you say so...”_  
“I say so.”  
“...”  
“It's settled then.”  
  


Tony grabbed the front of Yasha's shirt and gave it a gentle tug, urging him to rise, and as he did he brought Tony with him, legs wrapped around his hips.  
  


“ _Food and rest.”_  
“Yes Mother.”  
  


A sharp nip on his lower lip made Tony yelp, and the kiss that followed left him gasping for air, gasping that turned to grumbled curses as Yasha unceremoniously dropped him onto one of the chairs by the kitchen island and started preparing some proper food.  
  


“Meanie...”  
 _“Behave and I will make sure there's something special for you for dessert.”_  
  


The teasing glint and somewhat dark promise in those blue eyes instantly has Tony silent and helping with the preparations.  
Neither of them managed to get much sleep that night, both far too concerned with what tomorrow would bring.  
  


As Tony and Yasha joined the others for breakfast Tony started explaining about the possibility of shared sessions, Yasha stayed back though, watching from the door, waiting for the right time to reveal his identity.  
  


“Like I mentioned yesterday there is one more possibility we can explore using BARF.”  
“You mentioned something about exploring the base, right?”  
“Yes, but since the memories are just bits and pieces it's not going to be easy.”  
“Like I said yesterday, whatever it takes.”  
“You might just change your mind by the time I'm done explaining.”  
  


Tony had no idea how they would react to what he was about to suggest, hell, he didn't know if they even knew about the Winter Soldier.  
  


“It's possible to link two people's experience through BARF, you would go in with an experienced user who would help guide you through it. And help protect you from the darker memories that might hold you back or make you retreat.”  
“Blade?”  
“Yeah.”  
“So he would be like a bodyguard while I'm reliving the memories?”  
“Essentially.”  
“Okay, let's do it.”  
“Not so fast, there are a few things you need to know first, about him.”  
  


As Tony spoke Yasha moved away from the door where he had been keeping watch.  
  


“As you have no doubt already figured out, Blade is Ghost.”  
 _“It's not like we have been hiding it.”_  
“Yeah, we figured that out yesterday.”  
 _“I'm Yasha.”_  
  


Everyone just nodded as Yasha introduced himself.  
  


“What you don't know is who Yasha is.”  
  


In one smooth move Yasha removed his jacket and tossed it over the back of the nearest chair while reaching up to remove the mask, using his left to put it on display.  
The collective gasp when he dropped the mask on the table made it quite clear that Raider and his team recognized him.  
  


“You're the Winter Soldier...”  
 _“I am, but not HYDRA's Asset, no more, never again.”_  
“Damn...”  
“Did not expect that...”  
“If not HYDRA's _Asset_ , then who's?”  
  


The question held an edge, catching on Yasha's choice of words.  
  


“ _I chose Tony to wield me against HYDRA, for a weapon to truly shine it must be wielded by skilled hands. And Tony was also one of the few outside of HYDRA who would be able to perform maintenance on the arm.”_  
“He picked his mission, destroy HYDRA, himself, and he picked me to be his handler, to help provide him with everything he needs to complete the mission. He chose to be mine and I will stop at nothing to protect what is mine.”  
  


There was no mistaking the hint of threat in Tony's voice and as he scanned the faces of their guests they all met him head on for a moment before their gaze broke away and they lowered their heads slightly in acquiescence.  
The reaction showed that they truly understood his words, showed that while they clearly didn't like the implication of how far he would be willing to go, they accepted it.  
  


“So, knowing who Yasha is, are you still willing to do this together with him?”  
“Yeah, if he's willing to reveal who he is to help I sure as hell won't refuse that help.”  
 _“I will try to shield you from my own memories, but some may slip through anyway and you may find them very disturbing.”_  
“Thanks...”

Tony quickly set up the equipment for a joint session, though there were a few odd looks when he moved Yasha's setup away to the back corner and placed himself between Yasha and Gorgon.  
  


“If something triggers a bad memory for him he may lash out, and I'm the only one who can contain him without getting a fight on our hands.”  
“Makes sense.”

Tony didn't mention that the sensor cuff he secured around Yasha's flesh arm also contained a fast acting sedative designed to knock him out cold in an instant, it was something that Yasha insisted on since he wasn't always able to recognize his surroundings when he came out of a bad session.  
Since Tony refused to monitor the sessions from the adjacent room Yasha had insisted on it as an added security feature when they started working on the triggers and HYDRA memories, and he had insisted on having Friday control it to make sure Tony wouldn't hesitate to use it.  
  


As always Tony watched with rapt attention as the system initiated and Yasha appeared on the screen, the startup sequence was always the same when working on HYDRA memories.  
It started with blackness, then Yasha would appear seated in the Chair, he would be wearing his old HYDRA gear, complete with the old arm and unkempt hair, the chair would be in the process of cycling down from a wipe, the headpiece retracting and restraints disengaging.  
Once free Yasha would remove the mouthpiece and take the mask and goggles from the table next to him and put them on before rising, grabbing the fingerless gloves, and walking toward the door.  
Once standing before the door he would pause and raise his hand to the shoulder of the cybernetic arm and rub at the red star, replacing it with the snowflake design of the shield and new arm, then put the gloves on and open the door.  
  


On the second screen Gorgon was going through a similar startup sequence, she appeared sleeping on a bed in a prison cell, the cell held a bed, small desk, toilet and sink behind a low screen and a TV up in the corner, secured behind metal bars.  
The heavy metal door had a window and service hatch that would allow guards to look into the room as well as deliver tray's with food and similar smaller items.  
  


When Yasha opened his door he found himself in a corridor with rows of identical doors on each side, each door was marked with an ID number, no names, and there was a folder with the matching number in a holder next to the door.  
Opening the folder showed security logs and schedules for check-ups, showers, room cleaning and other pertinent information, all in all a setup very similar to many modern prison facilities, the file also detailed her enhancement, listing it as low risk and how to neutralize it.  
Opening the hatch to look into the cell connected the two scenes into one where Yasha was looking into Gorgon's cell.  
  


Yasha made short work of the door and soon the displays showed him scouting the facility with Gorgon at his side.  
Tony's mental map of the building showed that it must have been purpose built to be a prison or mental institution, and fairly recently as well as things like wiring and plumbing appeared modern and up to code for such a facility.  
  


It always amazed Tony how much detail BARF could pull even from the faintest memory, things that the person had never realized they had seen in the first place.  
Codes being entered by guards, a file left on a doctors desk, a hushed conversation at the edge of hearing, even things like the angle of light or weather seen through a window, music played on a radio, put it all together and you could find dates and times.  
Knowing dates and times made it possible to use the angles of light to find latitude and longitude.  
A look into a server and network room made Tony grin as IP-addresses, usernames and passwords were written down on a laminated paper and glued to the side of the rack holding the drives, with a bit of luck some may still be valid.  
  


Unfortunately the search of Gorgon's memories indicated that the facility kept most of it's data on hard-copies and secure, non-networked, computers, but they did have a few digital traces for Friday to rip into which she did with what could only be described as glee.  
By the time Gorgon and Yasha came out of the session Friday had already narrowed down the possible area for the facility and was digging through various government computers for things like building permits, filed construction plans, names, money trails and anything else that caught her attention.

Neither Tony nor Yasha were surprised when Friday found trails that pointed back at Thaddeus Ross, his desire to control enhanced individuals and replicate their abilities had caused him to be mixed up in a lot of seriously shady crap.  
  


“Fri, what do we have?”  
“I have a location, Greece, close to the Bulgarian border, due south of Plovdiv. I'm currently redirecting a satellite for real time thermal imaging.”  
“Alright.”  
  


Tony gave the screen showing the path of the satellite a quick glance then turned to the others.  
  


“That's gonna take a while so let's go get some food while we wait.”  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Beneath the Surface·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


They spent a full week observing the facility before acting, making sure they had the routines down reasonably well, it wasn't particularly well guarded, relying mostly on its front as a mental care facility specialized at caring for families and children.  
As far as they could tell there were four adult prisoners, 12 children who all appeared to be about five or younger, a science staff 20 man strong, five caretakers and 30 guards rotating on 10 man shifts.  
The off duty guards were housed in a small town about 30 minutes drive from the facility along with most of the science staff, only a few of the scientists and caretakers lived at the facility, this meant that at night the staff was a mere 16 strong, guards included.  
  


As they watched the late shift guards and a few scientists drive off, leaving just the night crew, then began getting ready to move, as soon as it was dark and the children had been put to bed they would move in.  
  


“Be careful.”  
 _“I'll try.”  
_

Tony leaned in and gave Yasha a quick kiss before reaching up and securing the muzzle and goggles, it wasn't the usual promise to be careful and he understood, Yasha would take more risks if it was needed to protect, save the children.  
It felt odd to prepare for a fight and not step into one of his armours, this time Tony was wearing a copy of Yasha's gear as they couldn't risk revealing that Tony was Wraith, instead Friday was piloting the suit.  
Bottom line was, Iron Man was not part of the taskforce, while Tony Stark was, even if just by a technicality as a founding member and the coordinator for Phantom, Iron Man was not cleared for missions that were not pre-approved, while Raider and his team were on the taskforce so Tony could give them temporary clearance to run a mission as support for Phantom.  
  


Securing his own muzzle and goggles Tony gave a sharp nod that he was ready, then they were moving with Yasha taking point, the plan was for him to clear away he guards before the rest headed in, Raider and the others would go for the children while Tony would go for computers and files with Yasha and Friday covering him.  
  


“Damn.”  
“He's scary good.”  
“Pretty sure it's illegal to be that good with a knife.”  
“It's kinda hot..”  
“Find your own, he's mine.”  
  


Tony exchanged comments and quips with Raider and the team while Yasha made short work of the guards, after all, 10 regular guards were barely a warm up for the Winter Soldier and once he gave the all clear the others joined him and split to do their jobs  
  


Tony knew he was smiling like a loon behind the muzzle when Gorgon appeared in the door to the server room, a pale blond girl on each side, the purple eyes with no visible pupil making it quite obvious that they were indeed her twins.  
  


“Hello girls.”  
  


Both of them just blushed and hid their faces against Gorgon, which made sense as they were probably not used to seeing anyone outside of the staff.  
As far as they could find in the documentation the children had been treated fairly well though, by HYDRA standards outright amazingly.  
There had been quite a bit of tests done, but nothing overly intrusive, it would seem this particular project ran a long game, the children being indoctrinated and conditioned in a manner similar to what you could see in more extreme religious environments.  
The data Tony found in the secure computers indicated that once the children at the facility reached sufficient maturity they were matched with handlers who would take over raising and training them, making them fully dependent on their handlers.  
A slow, but effective, way to get loyal soldiers without the need for cumbersome brainwashing methods that could seriously damage an _asset_ without enhanced healing.  
  


Four hours later all the hard-copies had been moved to the larger Quinjet that Tony had more or less commandeered from the SI fleet once the facility was secured and Tony had all the data on the computers copied and had them rigged to make sure there would be nothing but slag left.  
Friday had already excused herself and taken off, bringing the Wraith back to the tower to make some more room in the Quinjet, even the larger model was a bit of a tight fit with all the files and passengers.  
  


The first stop on their return trip was Wakanda, the children and the four very pregnant enhanced women would be safe there, no other nation was as free from HYDRA influence and T'Challa had given his word to personally see to their protection.  
A group of young, confirmed enhanced, children who might as well be orphans were simply too tempting a target to let the information get around.  
Tony was by all accounts one suspicious bastard on the best of days, but he had no doubt that T'Challa would keep his promise to protect those children as if they were his own.  
It would take time to socialize them and sort out the garbage they had been indoctrinated with, but they were still young enough to have a very good prognosis for a normal life, or as normal as it could be with an enhancement or mutation that gave you abilities.  
  


Landing at the Wakandan palace they were met by T'Challa, princess Shuri and a rather impressive number of Dora Milaje who quickly gathered the women and children and began guiding them toward the main building. Raider and the rest of the team following behind them.  
  


“I will make sure they are well cared for and protected Dr Stark.”  
  


T'Challa was giving Tony a rather curious look, a mix of confusion and wonder, like he has never seen him before.  
  


“I know you will, thanks.”  
“The children are our future, they must be protected and guided. And children like these even more so.”  
  


Tony nodded and was just about to deflect the somewhat uncomfortable attention when Shuri spoke up, offering him an impish smile before rounding on her brother.  
  


“You see brother? I told you he has a heart worthy of Bast.”  
  


T'Challa answers something in the Wakandan version of Xhosa that Tony had no hope of understanding, and that made Shuri break into a brilliant smile before excusing himself with a nod and a moment later Shuri practically pounces at them.  
  


“I see you have used the vibranium well. Beautiful work.”  
  


She didn't hesitate for a moment to reach out and brush her fingers along Yasha's arm and Tony can't help watching for any signs of discomfort, but it was always harder to see the fine details when someone's face was altered by a veil.  
As great as the photostatic veil was, it didn't always fully translate those fine details, like how Yasha's eyes changed colour.  
  


“Come on, show me those weapons too.”  
  


Tony had promised not to use the vibranium to make advanced weapons, and in the interest of proving himself worthy of the trust they had shown when giving him the additional vibranium he had asked permission to make the knives and swords for Yasha as well.  
The princess' eager energy quickly has Tony pulled along, while Yasha humours them with a sigh, used to Tony's occasional manic episodes.  
It didn't take long before Yasha found himself sprawled on a ridiculously comfortable chaise lounge in the brightly lit workshop that Shuri had dragged them to, watching the two inventors talk animatedly, their interactions as much gesture as words, if not more, giving the illusion of dance.  
  


“I thought this was like the ultimate family and national secret?”  
  


Tony made a confused gesture toward the Black Panther suits on display.  
  


“The secrets of the Panther habit are our most well guarded, secrets that only those worthy in the eyes of Bast may know.”  
“Us..?”  
“Yes.”  
“But we're... I was...”  
“Killers? The Merchant of Death? The Winter Soldier?”  
“Yeah...”  
  


Tony was confused and he could feel Yasha's focused attention like needles along his spine.  
  


“You have both been forged in darkness, by the choices of others. But you have chosen to change your ways. A panther kills when needed, to feed, to protect, to defend. But it does not kill needlessly, nor does it kill for pleasure.”  
  


Tony doesn't know what to say, how to refute her words, but he feels that he needs to, but before he has time to wallow he feels Yasha's hands on his shoulders.  
  


“ _Killing when not needed is something we have both done. We have both killed for the simple pleasure of revenge.”_  
  


Shuri tilts her head for a moment while Friday translates Yasha's words for her, using the Eidolon perched on his shoulder to relay the translation.  
  


“And was that not also killing to protect? Were those individuals who had already shown themselves willing to harm innocents? Scum willing and able to perform heinous acts?”  
  


Tony was struggling not to gape as Shuri didn't hesitate to get in Yasha's face and question his words, he didn't doubt she knew as much about the Winter Soldier as anyone outside of himself, Yasha, and maybe HYDRA.  
Telling Shuri about Yasha had been one of the conditions for getting the vibranium, and they had agreed that T'Challa needed at least some of the Dora Milaje to know as well.  
Soon he found himself smiling instead, the girl was brilliant with a contagious energy, she radiated determination and innovation, and she was currently making it obvious that she had one major set of vibranium balls on her.  
  


“ _True, but that was not our purpose, not our intent. We have killed because we wanted to, because we wanted the satisfaction of revenge, killed where we could simply have made sure they were imprisoned.”_  
“Death is the only prison that cannot be escaped.”  
  


There was a moment of silence, then the cold bled from Yasha's expression and his stance relaxed as he started laughing and turned back toward the small sitting area.  
  


“ _She's a tough one, I like her.”_  
  


Shuri stared at Yasha's retreating back for a moment, then she turned back to Tony.  
  


“He's a strange one, but I think I might learn to like him.”  
“Yeah, he's actually a pretty decent guy once you get past the stone cold killer exterior.”  
  


Shuri just huffed at him and accused them both of wearing far too many masks and armours.  
  


“Come, I have something I believe you will want to see.”  
  


Tony eagerly followed Shuri toward one of the workstations with a Panther suit on display and when he looked at the data she was showing him he found his mind spinning, vibranium nanite technology, he had the basics figured out, but this was so much more.  
The entire suit, or habit as she called it, was made from nanites, and when not in use it was stored inside a fancy looking necklace.  
His armours would of course require more nanites and thus more storage space, but the possibilities...  
  


Yasha took one look at Tony's expression, then walked up to one of the guards and asked her about procuring food for the pair as they would no doubt be a while and Tony hadn't eaten since before they initiated their attack on the facility in Greece.  
Friday quickly translated his words, making the guard look over to Shuri and Tony as they were both leaning in over the desk, both gesturing and pulling at the various displays.  
The look of fond exasperation on the face of the guard told him that manic workshop binges was a familiar occurrence and he watched as he activated some sort of communication device hidden in the bead bracelet that all Wakandans seemed to be wearing.  
  


“Someone will bring suitable food for them shortly.”  
“Thank you.”  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Beneath the Surface·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Yasha actually managed a short nap under Friday's watchful eye while Tony kept running on pure mania, even Shuri had taken several breaks, leaving Tony in the care of one of her assistants while he pored over her extensive data and notes.  
  


On the 3rd day Shuri chases Tony out of the workshop and into the hands of a pair of guards, giving strict orders that he is not permitted to return until he has had at least 5 hours of sleep, a shower, change of clothes and a proper meal.  
She then instructs the guards to see Tony and Yasha to a guest room that has apparently been prepared for them.  
  


Yasha listens with amusement as Tony waxes on about how minds like Shuri's are the key to the future, he listens as Tony tells Friday to look into creating more, and larger, scholarships and stipends for brilliant young minds who don't have the benefit of wealth.  
By the time they reach the assigned rooms Tony has completely lost himself in a debate with Friday about creating community outreach programs to find and help gifted children that are too young to be discovered in the school system  
  


“Please make yourselves comfortable, food will be delivered in half an hour.”  
“Thank you.”  
  


Finding themselves in a spacious room that split off into a smaller bedroom with a single, large, bed makes the pair share a look, it would seem that whoever had set the room up was quite perceptive to have figured out the level of closeness in their relationship.  
  


“Queen Mother Ramonda asked me what your preferred sleeping arrangements would be, didn't think you'd mind me telling her the truth.”  
  


With Friday's words, things immediately make a lot more sense.  
  


“Tattletale.”  
  


Tony grumbled at her while making his way to the bed to inspect the small piles of clothes placed on it.  
  


“Seeing to your comfort is part of my core directives Boss.”  
  


Friday's smug tone makes Tony huff and complain about her sassing him, but there's no way to mistake his proud smile.  
  


The clothes consist of simple, but well made and comfortable, pants, shirt and tunic as well as underwear and a set of thin sleepwear.  
  


“Fri, did you happen to provide our sizes as well?”  
“Of course Boss.”  
  


Moments later Tony felt Friday using the nanites to speak to him without anyone being able to overhear.  
  


“I may also have slightly exaggerated Yasha's dietary requirements to make sure they bring enough food for both of you to fill up without revealing your recent change in enhancement status.”  
”Thanks Fri baby.”  
  


Outwardly Tony just sighs and moves the clothes that looked like his size to the chair next to the bed.  
  


“Shower before or after we eat?”  
 _“I think we better eat first. Knowing you, you'll be crashing by the time we're out of the shower.”_  
“I guess...”  
  


When food arrived they were presented with a multitude of smaller bowls sauces and meats that Tony had a feeling he might not want to ask what they all were, he could see the usual meats like chicken and some kind of fish, and what probably was goat.  
But there were also a few skewers with grubs, roasted lizards, large rodents that Tony assumed were cane rats and chunks of snake.  
In the middle of the table there were larger bowls with vegetables, rice, millet, some kind of porridge and dumplings as well as a few kinds of bread.  
  


“Fri, can you tell what this stuff is?”  
  


Tony nudged the bowl with some kind of porridge.  
  


“Other than the vegetables, rice and millet most of it appears to have been made with various combinations of yam, plantain and cassava.”  
“Alright, let's have at it.”  
  


Tony gave the grubs very suspicious glance, but did try one before setting the skewer aside, sure, if he was starving, but not with other options available, Yasha however was a lot less picky, he just dunked them in one of the spicier sauces before making short work of them.  
Tony can't help suspecting that those grubs and a few other things were included as a bit of a joke to see if they would actually eat them.  
  


By the time they made it out of the shower Tony was swaying and leaning on Yasha to keep his balance while they got dried off.  
  


“Come here котенок.”  
  


Tony grumbled and tried to complain as Yasha scooped him up and carried him to the bed, but he was far too exhausted to put up any actual effort.  
  


“ _Sleep.”_  
  


Tony tries to resist out of pure stubbornness, but before he can even find a comeback he's drifting off.  
  


“I will keep guard Yasha, you get some sleep too.”  
  


Yasha looked toward the ceiling where Friday had the Eidolon clinging to a wooden beam, giving her a good vantage point to watch the room, then after a moment he nodded and settled down..  
  


Nine hours of sleep, another shower while listening to Tony complaining about the lack of A/C in the bedroom, and a sizable breakfast later Yasha finds himself once again watching Tony gawk, gush and outright croon at various pieces of Wakandan technology.  
  


Two days later Tony was graciously and wholeheartedly thanking T'Challa and Shuri for their generosity in allowing him to stay and study Wakandan technology while lamenting that he had to leave.  
  


“I'm sure we can find some time to drop by the workshop when you visit to check on the children.”  
  


Tony couldn't help levelling Shuri with a glare, she knew damn well that he had planned to stay clear of those kids and now she was using his love for tech against him.  
Shuri however just kept up that ridiculously innocent smile that he was pretty sure no one bought.  
A glance at T'Challa rewarded him with something between amusement and pity, he had obviously been the target of his sister's machinations more than once in the past.  
Moments later the expression shifted into something knowing then he shrugged as if in surrender, and the message was clear, he was telling Tony he'd be better off just surrendering and allowing Shuri to have it her way.  
  


The lowering of the Quinjet's ramp turned Tony's attention to the craft, and the moment he could see inside it he groaned at the reminder, several large filing cabinets were strapped down against the grate and the D-ring anchors in the fuselage.  
There were also stacks of boxes and crates secured with various nets and straps against the cabinets and walls of the fuselage.  
Even with top of the line imaging and scanning methods it was going to take quite a while to digitize and translate all the documents.  
  


After a somewhat long winded, and formal, exchange of polite goodbyes and well wishes along with invitations to return, or drop by when in the area, Tony and Yasha boarded the Quinjet and took the controls while Friday handled getting clearance with the Wakandan authorities.  
  


“I really hope this invitation to learn about Wakandan tech is a lasting one.”  
  


Tony looked out the window as they passed through Wakanda's holographic shield, the sight of the city and palace replaced with an image of a lush wilderness.  
  


“ _They have created some impressive things.”_  
“Mhm, some of the directions they have gone are amazing.”  
“Divergent evolution.”  
  


Yasha's words made Tony pause and look at him, then hum in agreement.  
  


“I guess it would be the technological equivalent of divergent evolution, an isolated population with a significant difference in conditions.”  
 _“Access to vibranium.”_  
“It's allowed them to accomplish some amazing stuff.”  
 _“You still rival them in many areas.”_  
“Flattery will get you everywhere, including in my pants”  
  


The very unimpressed look that Yasha levelled him with at the attempt to deflect left Tony feeling somewhat uncomfortable, he was used to flattery, to being hailed a genius and all that, but somehow that flat, half glare, at his usual deflection felt far more real.  
After a moment Tony huffed at himself, at how messed up it was that with everything he had done in his life he couldn't handle a honest compliment without deflecting or joking about it.  
Meeting Yasha's eyes he found that the glare wasn't quite as flat as it had seemed, there was something akin to concern reflecting in the pale blue.  
  


“Sorry, never was any good at taking a compliment...”  
 _“Why?”_  
  


The question took him by surprise and before Tony realized what he was doing he had begun telling Yasha more details about his childhood, about how Howard had made damn sure to teach him he was never good enough, never worthy.  
How it was beaten into him, both figuratively and literally, that he would never measure up to the great Captain America, that he would never be worthy in the eyes of his father.  
  


“ _Howard was a blind fool, not worthy of determining your worth.”_  
“Intellectually I know that, but knowing doesn't undo the damage, the scars are still there.”  
  


Tony could see Yasha withdrawing slightly, struggling with the emotions brought up by the conversation.  
  


“ _I don't regret killing him, I can't, I won't. But I do feel remorse for leaving you with nothing but the memories of a scared, abused, child to fight against.”_  
  


Tony didn't know what to say, they had talked about Yasha's lack of remorse, guilt or regret concerning his actions under HYDRA's control, and he accepted it as it was, ultimately no one would benefit from Yasha feeling bad about things that were out of his control.  
Yasha had mentioned that he felt bad about Maria when examining the memories, she wasn't a target, if she hadn't been in the car he wouldn't have harmed her, and he had offered a few scathing comments about Howard transporting the serum with her in the car.  
This however was something new, and it left Tony a bit confused.  
  


“What?”  
 _“You keep measuring yourself against your memories of Howard. You were a child, you didn't have the means to fight back or protect yourself, your memories are tainted by that helplessness.”_  
“So, you think I'm comparing myself against a monster created by the memories of a scared child?”  
 _“Can you honestly say you're not?”_  
“...”  
 _“Can you?”_  
“Fuck... I need some time...”  
 _“You're thinking now, that's good.”_  
  


Yasha reached out toward him and Tony took the offered hand without hesitation, bridging the gap between their seats, but the distance was just a bit too far for it to be comfortable, even with their weight shifted toward each other.  
The discomfort didn't last very long though, before it could become an issue Yasha simply moved from his seat and sat down on the floor next to Tony, leaning his back against the frame of Tony's seat and tugged his hand into a more comfortable position.  
  


“Boss, final approach for landing in five minutes?”  
  


Friday's voice startled Tony slightly, he hadn't anticipated falling asleep on the flight, and the soft whirring from Yasha's arm as he habitually went through the test and calibration sequence revealed he had fallen a sleep as well.  
  


“Is the truck and armor ready for us?”  
“Of course boss. Happy is waiting for us to land and he has selected a few of the stronger men from security to help carry the cargo. They will be riding with it in the truck as well.”  
“Excellent.”  
  


The larger SI Quinjet was too big to land at the tower platform and transferring the files from the airstrip to the tower was a big security risk, but Tony trusted that Happy knew what he was doing with selecting the guards.  
The fact that Happy had been more than happy to let Yasha interview the security crew himself had done a lot to earn their trust, they still hadn't told him just who Yasha was though, but Tony had a feeling Happy would be okay with it.  
Happy didn't put much value on files and background checks, he trusted his guts more than anything and he liked Yasha, he would definitely be upset about them keeping it a secret, but he would understand why they did it.  
The question was, would the understanding and loyalty be enough to overcome the hurt and upset, would he stay, or would he leave.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Beneath the Surface·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Whoever wrote this has abysmal handwriting.”  
  


Friday's complaints as she tried to make sense of one of the documents they were digitizing had Tony snorting in amusement.  
  


A lot of the papers just went through the automated scanner, but there were a lot of smaller notes, everything from paper scraps, and smaller notepad papers to sticky notes, making the process a lot slower.  
A lot of it was handwritten as well so they had to compare the notes to what the scanner had read to make sure it had picked everything up and the separate out things like smudges, fortunately Friday was really good at cleaning the scans.  
Once that was done they had to verify the translation to ASCII to make sure the optical character recognition software hadn't missed anything, naturally Friday's OCR was the best, but it still needed verification sometimes.  
  


“Guess even HYDRA doctors suffer from doctors' handwriting.”  
  


The puzzled look Yasha gave him pulled out an all out laugh, and the next half hour was spent explaining and showcasing the horrid atrocity that was the handwriting of doctors across the world.  
It was a well needed break from working on the documents, despite knowing it could have been much worse the material still contained harrowing details.  
  


“ _I have seen your handwriting when working, I don't think you should be talking.”_  
“That's my personal shorthand, it's supposed to be unreadable by others and tough to decipher.”  
  


There was a hint of pain in Tony's voice that made Yasha pause and look at him, then step over and pull him into his arms.  
  


“ _I'm sorry, didn't mean to...”  
_ “It's okay, you didn't know. And it's kinda supposed to look like really crappy handwriting.”  
 _“I still hurt you.”_  
“Not you, not really...”  
  


Once again Yasha found himself thinking that Howard's death had been too easy, and a small part of him was wishing he could reach through time and drag the man before Tony to show just how pathetic the father truly was when compared to the brilliance of the son.  
  


“Boss, do you think these passages I have been having trouble with could be something similar? A personal form of shorthand?”  
  


At that moment Yasha would have hugged Friday if it had been possible, he knew they would need to talk more about Tony's insecurities if he was ever to get past them, but right now neither of them were in a suitable mental state, the work with the HYDRA documents taking far too much out of them.  
  


“That might actually be it, but it's gonna be a pain in the ass to figure out.”  
 _“We still have a lot of other files to do, maybe we should set these aside for now?”_  
“Yeah, that's probably a good idea, save some time. You heard him Fri.”  
“Of course Boss, Yasha.”  
  


Friday used the robotic arms to set the troublesome file aside and pick up a new one and start scanning and cleaning it up.  
  


“Maybe you should take a break and get some sleep? I can scan and index this on my own.”  
  


Friday was concerned about her...  
Family?  
Yes, family was the right word.  
She could tell that reading the files upset them, and while her own ability to feel emotions was still limited she could understand why, children were precious, they were supposed to be protected and guided, not used and indoctrinated, conditioned.  
  


“ _A break might be good.”_  
“Don't think I'll be able to sleep...”  
“At least try to get some rest Boss, it's not good to keep working while in your current emotional state. That goes for you too Yasha.”  
  


Tony huffed and sighed, but he did put the file down and turn to Yasha, who set the file in his hands down as well.  
  


“I guess we better do as she says before she decides to make us...”  
  


That pulled a somewhat dark chuckle from Yasha, Friday could be quite creative in getting her way, employing methods ranging from turning off the lights and disabling electronics to delivering electric shocks or engaging the fire suppression system to chase them out of the workshop.  
There were also things like threatening to replace all the coffee in the tower with decaf, something that had Tony scrambling to do as she had suggested.  
  


“It's my job to watch over my family and keep them safe.”  
  


Friday's choice of words made Tony pause and turn to Yasha who was moving a few boxes around to make sure everything was well within the reach of the robotic arms that Friday was controlling, and for a moment he just stood there watching.  
Clarity came sudden, and left him tingling, fire, ice and electricity all at once.  
  


“Yeah, family is to be protected and cared for, even if they sometimes resist and make it hard.”  
 _“Family is heart and choice, not blood.”_  
  


Yasha's words startled Tony slightly, he hadn't expected him to say anything, and the look on Yasha's face was unusually soft as he patted the modified hand of Friday's arm.  
  


“Family..?”  
  


This time Friday sounded hesitant, questioning.  
  


“ _Baby sister to teach and protect, big sister who teaches and teases, the protectiveness of a mother bear, all in one amazing package.”_  
  


Tony just stared at the exchange, he didn't even realize he was crying until Yasha walked over and brushed a tear away.  
  


“ _She may not be flesh and blood, but you have one amazing daughter.”_  
“She is amazing isn't she, my lovely baby girl...”  
 _“Like father, like daughter.”_  
  


Tony was struggling not to shiver as Yasha leaned in and kissed the lingering tears away, but there was no hint of the usual surge of desire, just a soft warmth, it was gentle, calming and caring, it felt solid, and safe, and if Tony was to put a label on it he would have to call it love.  
He knew something had changed, again, something he would need to talk to Yasha about, they hadn't really talked about what they wanted from the future outside of the mission to take down HYDRA, but maybe it was time they did.  
  


Tony realized that he wanted a family, and not just the family of friends, he wanted more than a lover, he wanted a true partner to share everything with, and it terrified him.  
He had once believed he wanted that with Pepper, but it had become painfully obvious that they had not been right for each other, he hadn't been ready but tried anyway, and she couldn't deal with him being Iron Man, but tried anyway, and in the end they both ended up hurt.  
He didn't think he would survive that kind of hurt again, not if it was Yasha...  
With a silent curse he forced those thoughts down and burrowed his face against Yasha's shoulder for a moment before stepping back and taking hold of the cybernetic hand, pulling gently toward the door.  
  


“Food, then rest, and talk...”  
 _“Yes, talk.”_  
  


When Friday watched them leave the room that had been set aside for processing the files she could feel something new in her code and she carefully partitioned that part of her core off so she could examine it carefully.  
The new, unfamiliar code was slowly forming new connections, an entire new web of interconnected code was forming in that part of her core, expanding it, making it, her, more than she had been before, the change felt good, felt safe so she dropped the partition and allowed it to spread across her entire core.  
She did make sure there were proper backups first though, she knew what had happened to Jarvis, to Ultron, how their AI cores had been infected and corrupted, she refused to let something like that take her away from her creator.  
She was always careful, always making sure there were proper backups of her core hidden away around the world, if her primary core was taken out there would be ways to restore her with minimal loss, protecting her family also meant keeping herself safe.  
Though, she wouldn't hesitate to destroy herself to save them if there was no other way, even if it would cause them pain.  
  



	13. Heart of a Legend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter didn't want to cooperate and I'm not entirely happy with the flow in it but decided to go ahead and push on rather than get stuck any longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is a reference to a quote from Michael Scott's, The Alchemyst: “At the heart of every legend there is a grain of truth.”

.·:*¨¨*:· Heart of a Legend·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Tony was comfortably curled into Yasha's lap as they watched some old movie that he hadn't really bothered checking the name of, it was one of many that had been added at one point of another to Yasha's watchlist.  
Neither of them felt like sleeping, but Friday was adamant they get some rest so relaxing with a movie it was.  
  


Tony wasn't paying much attention though, his mind was far too occupied by what had happened when Friday suggested they get some sleep.  
Family.  
The thought alone was enough to fill him with a confusing mix of longing and dread.  
  


Feeling Yasha's hand move from it's usual place at his hip up to his neck was enough to tell Tony that his mood had been noticed.  
  


“I'm okay, it's just... I'm feeling a bit apprehensive...”  
 _“About family?”_  
“Yeah.”  
  


Tony couldn't help having some mixed feelings about how easily Yasha read him, but at the moment he was relieved that he didn't have to figure out a way to approach the topic.  
  


“ _I don't know much about family, but the memories, he knew what family truly means.”_  
“What you said about family being heart and choice, that came from your memories of Bucky?”  
 _“Yes, I can_ _ **feel**_ _those memories, they feel right...”_  
“That's something new. Any other memories giving you an emotional response?”  
  


Yasha feeling an emotional connection to some of the memories of being Bucky could be a big thing, or it could be something inconsequential, only time could tell.  
  


“ _Memories of his mother and sisters, feelings of belonging, I think they are helping me understand what family means. Those feelings about the sisters, they feel like Friday.”_  
“That's good, isn't it?”  
 _“It is, I like those memories, what they teach me...”_  
“I can hear the but...”  
  


The silence was just on the edge of being uncomfortable, but the way Yasha's arms tightened slightly before the metal of his fingers once again started brushing against Tony's neck was enough to keep them both grounded.  
  


“ _Memories of Rogers, trying to connect feelings of brotherhood and chosen family, I don't like it. Feels wrong, feels like the conditioning, the triggers...”_  
  


The shiver that ran through Yasha's body made Tony reach up and cup his face, drawing him closer.  
  


“Maybe you could try to remember the feelings, but not the person those memories attach them to?”  
 _“Maybe, been thinking...”_  
  


Tony settled back down and allowed himself to relax into Yasha's hold, waiting for him to find his words, though it was a struggle not to push, being patient never was his best trait, though, those soft kisses trailing along his shoulder worked wonders to keep him distracted.  
  


“ _Maybe BARF can help me create memories with a more suitable target to process those feelings...”_  
  


For a moment Tony felt ice settle in his stomach, an overwhelming sense of dread and loss as his mind leapt to the conclusion that his feelings were not requited, he struggled to force his breathing and pulse to remain somewhat calm.  
He had to know, he couldn't jump to conclusions.  
  


“ _I was thinking of trying to replace Rogers with Loki in those memories... But I don't want to do that without asking him first.”_  
  


Tony didn't realize he had been holding his breath until he released it in a woosh, relief flooding his senses as hope flickered back to life.  
He barely had time for the feeling to fully manifest before he found his face being turned by a soft grip as Yasha examined his expression.  
  


“ _Will you tell me why?”_  
“Why do you have to be so damned good at reading me?”  
 _“Because you need someone who can see_ _ **you**_ _.”_  
  


Tony closed his eyes, he needed to get away from that piercing gaze to calm himself, it took a few minutes to get his mind, his feelings, back into some semblance of control.  
  


“I.. I want a family, all of it...”  
  


There was no change in Yasha's expression, just calm attention and patience.  
  


“I want...”  
  


Tony squirmed slightly and cursed himself for not finding his words, but the feeling of Yasha turning his head again until they were once again forehead against forehead settled his mind.  
  


“I want more than what we have now. But I don't know...”  
  


Tony twisted slightly and slammed his hands against the backrest of the couch as he settled back to straddle Yasha's legs.  
  


“Fuck!”  
  


Why did it have to be so fucking hard to speak his mind...  
  


“ _Don't know if I'll be able to, if I can be enough, but I want to...”_  
  


Yasha's soft words, barely a whisper, made the world grind to a halt around Tony.  
  


“ _I want to be what you need, and I hope you would be willing to be the same for me...”_  
  


For a moment Tony just stared at Yasha, taking in every little detail of his face, looking into his as if all the secrets of the universe were hidden there.  
It may not have been the answer to the _Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything,_ but they held the one answer, the one truth, that Tony was looking for.  
  


“Love you...”  
  


The kiss that followed was agonizingly soft, pure emotion, and Yasha didn't break it off to answer Tony's declaration, instead he gently tapped against the edge of the arc reaction, metal against metal echoing the same words back.  
  


They may not have actually talked about what it was they wanted, or put a name on it, Tony wasn't even sure he knew what to call it, and Yasha didn't seem to be any better off, but they agreed they wanted more.  
That they both wanted to be more for the other, and both wanted to have more of whatever the other could offer, more, everything.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Heart of a Legend·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“I hate this...”  
  


Tony tugged at his tie while tapping his foot to get the shoe to slide into that perfect, comfortable, fit.  
  


“ _Miss Potts will skin us both alive if you don't attend this meeting. She made it quite clear that nothing short of an End of the World call to assemble would be a valid excuse to miss it.”_  
  


As much as Yasha disliked the way the woman had tried to change Tony then pulled away after he gave up most of himself, he did acknowledge her competency as CEO and couldn't help feeling a certain amount of respect for the deadly efficiency with which she wielded her skills.  
She was every bit the assassin of the boardroom and corridors of politics and part of him considered just how dangerous she could become with a bit of the Red Room skills added to her repertoire, she could become very useful for wrangling politics.  
  


“What's on your mind Frosty? You're looking a bit devious there.”  
 _“I was considering how dangerous an asset Miss Potts could become with a bit of Red Room training.”_  
“Okay, that's nightmare food.”  
  


Tony shivered at the thought, but he had to admit that Yasha was right, adding those skills to Pepper's already formidable talents when it came to handling politicians and businessmen would make her a very potent ally in the political arena.  
  


“ _If she could be swayed to assist us she could do a lot of good, prevent a lot of problems.”_  
“I thought you didn't particularly like her?”  
 _“I really don't mind her as such, I just don't like the way she tried to change you, Iron Man is part of who you are, what makes you,_ _ **you**_ _. And I don't like the way she withdrew when you needed support.”_ _ **  
**_“She was going through a lot too, can't expect everyone to be strong enough to handle the kind of insanity we live every day.”  
 _“True, but there were better options available, a grown woman should know that changing who your partner is never works.”_  
“Perhaps, but I should have known better too, it's not all on her.”  
  


This time Yasha nodded slightly and accepted Tony's argument for the truth it was, Tony too should have known that changing yourself in such a radical way is not a good base for a relationship.  
  


“ _In the end it doesn't really matter how I feel about that, it's between the two of you, but I won't stand silent if I think she's going to hurt you again.”  
_ “Fair enough. Just please, use your words, and don't wait if you see something we don't. If possible, I'd rather try to fix things...” _  
_

Yasha gave him another nod, promising he would say something if he saw any indications of things turning bad, that he would try to protect Tony without damaging his friendship with Pepper, he had precious few friends as it was.  
  


“ _Despite how I may feel about someone I still recognize talent when I see it, my personal feelings don't change her potential. She may not be in the business of taking lives, but she is every bit the assassin.”_  
“Point taken.”  
 _“Do you believe she could be swayed in favour of the plans we're making?”_  
“I don't know, it's possible. She definitely won't like it, but I think she can see the benefits.”  
 _“So the question would be if she can be swayed before acting against us if we approach her?”_  
“Yeah, she can get a bit protective and won't always slow down to listen if she thinks I'm acting contrary to my best interest. Or well, what she thinks would be in my best interest.”  
  


Tony could see Yasha stiffen slightly and he could swear the temperature in the car dropped, the idea of people deciding what is in someone else's best interest was a major trigger for him, or well, anything even remotely close to someone trying to run another person's life.  
  


“It's not a call we should be making on our own anyway since it involves _him_.”  
 _“True.”_  
“Oh well, we're here, show time.”  
  


There is a hint of bitterness in Tony's tone and the way the smile doesn't reach his eyes that makes Yasha want to turn the car around and head back to the tower.  
  


Yasha finds himself appreciating the way Tony rips apart every complaint, every argument that the board makes, he can tell from their reactions that they were not expecting Tony to put up a fight about a lot of the topics.  
  


“No, Stark Industries will not be taking on any contracts to supply customized equipment for Rogers or the other former Avengers. If they want to use their funding to purchase products marketed by Stark Industries that's up to them.”  
  


He could see Tony's anger in the slight flare of amber in his eyes, no one else can see it though as Tony had turned his back to the room in what would be interpreted as dismissal, but Yasha can tell it's in part to make sure no one notices.  
Potts still had the stabilized extremis in her system, she would know what that flicker of amber meant, and it was quite probable that the board members were aware as well as she refused to wear contacts to mask her eyes.  
  


“It may look good at the surface, but how will it look if they go off the handle again and end up using custom Stark tech to take down a city block?”  
“I thought you and Captain America had worked out your differences?”  
“You should know better than to be fooled by the appearances painted by the media, Mr Campbell.”  
  


Cutting in before Tony had to answer earned Potts a few points in Yasha's book, but she was still far in the negative in his overall opinion.  
  


“We're here to discuss Stark Industries, not the Accords or my relationship with Rogers and his team.”  
  


For a moment the man, Campbell, looks like he's about to argue, but faced with two sets of glares he wisely backs down and the meeting continues.  
  


“Finally! I thought they'd never shut up.”  
  


Tony starts tugging at his tie the moment they enter the elevator.  
  


“Was starting to think we'd be stuck having lunch in the cafeteria... Not that the food is bad.”  
  


The look Yasha gives him makes it perfectly clear he doesn't believe a word he is saying.  
  


“ _Have you made plans for lunch without consulting your security detail again?”_  
“Maybe?”  
  


Yasha teases while they walk toward the car, but all his senses are on edge as the security of the parking garage at the office building was very limited compared to the tower with it being open for visitors.  
  


“Fri?”  
“All clear, no suspicious activity and no one has approached the car.”  
 _“Thank you.”_  
  


Yasha quickly opened the door for Tony and waited for him to take a seat before slipping into the driver's seat himself.  
  


“ _So, where do these plans of yours have us going?”_  
“Fri baby, would you be a sweetheart and put the address on screen?”  
“Of course Boss.”  
  


One of Tony's favourite Italian chefs was in New York for a re-opening event for one of his restaurants and Tony had managed to get an exclusive lunch reservation, only him and Yasha, to be cooked in a small show kitchen.  
The entire kitchen was designed to look like an Italian farm kitchen, giving it an intimate and homely atmosphere.  
The restaurants were famous for the luxury food and nice collection of Michelin stars, food to challenge the palate, but a less known fact among the masses was that the chef himself preferred rustic, home-cooked style meals.  
Food meant to fill you up and leave you warm and sated, the kind of food one associated with a mother's love and care.  
  


Yasha's questioning look when they arrive makes Tony smile, hopefully his second reason for picking the current setting would be appreciated as well.  
  


“ _I was hoping that watching everything being prepared and cooked from scratch would help you feel a bit less vulnerable...”_  
  


Tony spoke Russian, reducing the chance that the chef would understand them.  
He had noticed that Yasha would sometimes become a bit on edge when eating out, it wasn't an issue on a good day, but at the moment, with what they were finding in the HYDRA files, Yasha was not in a very good place.  
Tony didn't feel that sequestering themselves at the tower would be a good idea either, so he had considered ways to get out and about while also reducing the amount of stress they were exposed to, and watching the food being made from scratch helped soothe Yasha's worry about being poisoned.  
Logically they both knew that the risk that an orally administered poison would be strong enough to overcome the serum and Phoenix while also being undetectable was slim, but that didn't really help when instincts and stress got all mixed together.  
  


“ _It does, thank you...”_  
  


Tony did nothing to resist the smile that Yasha's soft gratitude pulled from him, pure happiness at having found something that helped Yasha feel more comfortable, the more in touch with his emotions he became the more susceptible he became to things like stress.  
He still had an insane tolerance though, and he could retreat into the Asset mindset, his personality, state of mind, in the Asset state didn't seem to have changed beyond being able to better understand and respond to emotions, and he was getting good at imitating them while in that state as well.  
  


All through this Tony is learning about emotions as well, about showing his feelings, about those little things, how to show he cares with simple gestures, like making someone feel a bit more comfortable, and he is gradually learning to better read the emotions of others.  
He has come to realize that there is a lot of truth in the old saying that _Through yourself you know others_ , just not in the way he had originally thought, to understand emotions in others you needed to understand and accept your own emotions.  
  


Feeling the gentle brush of fingers against the inside of his wrist followed by a steady rhythm, Yasha's pulse, calm and steady, meant far more to Tony than the words of gratitude had, he loved the way Yasha was slowly growing increasingly tactile.  
Tony was a bit unsure though if it was something Yasha was doing because he too was a tactile person, or if he was doing it simply because of how much Tony enjoyed the touch, adapting himself to having a tactile partner.  
He was hoping Yasha wasn't doing it just to humour him.  
  


Once the thought of Yasha doing it just to humour him took root Tony couldn't quite shake it, and he made a mental note that he needed to talk to Yasha about that, make sure he wasn't influencing Yasha's development too much.  
He knew, of course, that there was no way for two people to share so much of their life, to have such an intimate relationship, without rubbing off on each other, without influencing and altering each other on some level, he just wanted to make sure he wasn't having an undue influence on Yasha.  
Tony had already realized that in many ways his influence on Yasha's development would be more like that of a parent than that of a friend or partner, something that left him a bit unsettled at times as he was intimately aware of what kind of scars a parent could leave on a child.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Heart of a Legend·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Boss, the final mission logs from the Chinese team have been registered with the taskforce and I have compiled a full report on the entire operation.”  
“Thank you sweetie.”  
  


Tony looked up from the nanite coding he was working on and quickly closed up the project before heading to the mission room to join Yasha who was still working on the files.  
Yasha greeted Tony with kisses, and a few pointed questions to make sure he had eaten the food that had been brought to the workshop and left on one of the tables.  
  


“Yeah, ate it all. Thanks for all the work preparing it.”  
  


Yasha had found that the easiest way to get Tony to eat during his workshop binges and bouts of mania was to keep a good supply of finger foods and healthy snacks within reach, that way he would eat without thinking about it.  
Larger meals and foods that required him to stop working to eat them were usually ignored.  
  


“So, Fri baby, how much damage did we manage to do?”  
  


After hitting the operation in Greece they had relayed most of the data from the computers to the taskforce coordinators as they would have very little time before HYDRA realized the data was compromised.  
There simply wasn't enough time to use it by themselves, especially since they had just done a week long mission themselves, so they had left it up to the taskforce to coordinate strikes all over the world.  
  


“During the 10 operation the taskforce performed 38 mission, most of them highly successful. A total of 42 HYDRA operatives embedded within companies, labs and government branches involved in medical research have apprehended.”  
“Sweet.”  
“12 medical trials related to those operatives have been put on hold pending a thorough investigation and reassessment by the relevant ethics committees. Several unauthorized experiments and trials involving Chitauri biological samples have been uncovered as well.”  
 _“That's a really nice haul.”_  
“They also wrecked a bunch of bases, destroyed a lot of weapons, and killed some 250 HYDRA grunts, including a few suspected enhanced individuals, a pair of orca and a giant squid...”  
  


The mention of two killer whales and a squid had Tony and Yasha sharing a look before both started laughing.  
  


“Apparently HYDRA have been trying to create enhanced animals to use as weapons.”  
“Of course they have...”  
  


Tony huffs and curses for a bit before asking Friday to do an extra search of all the data they have for anything pointing toward cells doing animal research.  
  


“ _Check behavioural studies as well, they would need some way of controlling them.”  
_ “Got it.”  
“Great, let's have a look at these details.”  
  


By the time they were done going through the reports Friday refused to let them get back to work until they had some food and rest, going as far as locking down every room and route outside of what would take them back to the lair.  
  


“I do believe my baby girl is getting a bit bossy...”  
 _“She's growing up.”_  
“Someone needs to be a reasonable adult here to make sure you two actually eat and sleep.”  
 _“Hey, don't bunch me up with that lunatic.”_  
“You may have the benefit of the serum, but you are still every bit as much a workaholic as Boss.”  
“Now now kids, no fighting.”  
  


Tony's wide grin made it perfectly clear that he knew exactly what kind of effect his words would have and a moment later he was squealing with laughter as Yasha pinned him against the wall and tickled him.  
Yasha ignored the garbled pleas for mercy for a good couple of minutes before silencing them with a searing kiss, leaving his victim flushed and breathless.  
  


“You're pure evil!”  
 _“Guess those Westboro lunatics had a point when accusing you of consorting with the Devil then.”_  
  


For a moment Tony just gaped, then he spluttered, and finally he broke down laughing again, gasping for air between bouts of laughter, snorts and guffaws mixing with maniacal bursts of giggling that left him in tears.  
  


“Damn, I needed that.”  
  


Tony was gasping for air and pearls of giggles were still erupting from time to time, but the smile on his face had his eyes alight with a deep joy.  
  


“I haven't laughed like that in forever, if ever...”  
“...”  
“Thank you.”  
  


The kiss that followed was soft, Tony already breathless from laughing, but it brought with it a simmering warmth that left Yasha yearning for more, for something he didn't really know how to describe, but he knew Tony was the one who could give it to him.  
  


“I believe you two lovebirds were supposed to eat and sleep.”  
“Bossy and sassy, Frosty, I'm starting to think you're a bad influence on my baby girl.”  
 _“Oh hell no, you're not pinning that on me, she gets it all from you.”_  
  


Friday just kept watching as the two started moving toward the kitchen, playful bantering and sniping mixed with touches and kisses, and the new part of her code was humming, growing, whispering that it was good, it was love.  
There was something else though, part of her code was extrapolating data and making predictions, telling her that they would have to face a lot more pain, a lot more darkness.  
The new code stirred at that, finding ways to protect her family, seeking to pre-empt anything that would cause them pain, it was hard though as so much depended on Yasha's recovery and development and she could feel her creator's desire not to interfere with that.  
There were too many variables, too many unknowns to make accurate predictions, but she could make plans based on the more probable ones, and maybe she could pull a few strings here and there to try to stave off the really bad ones.  
  


Part of her attention flickered to the sealed database containing the _Dark Side Protocol_ , it held all known or relevant data on a large number of individuals with a high risk potential, their strengths and weaknesses.  
Data that in case one of them turned into an active threat could be used to subvert, apprehend, contain, neutralize, or terminate individuals such as Rogers or Thor, it even had theories on how to terminate seemingly invulnerable individuals like the Hulk.  
Hidden within those archives was the _Ω-archive_ , it held contingencies for taking out individuals of particular interest to her creator, how to get them out of the way without it leading back to him, in addition to the solution in Dark Side, it also held ways to ruin them.  
  


She quickly terminated the task looking into those, knowing her father would not approve of such an act, she didn't quite understand though as he was the one who had created the _Ω-archive_ , and she knew he had done such things himself, she had asked but he had just shook his head and mumbled about innocence and bloodied hands.  
Perhaps she should see about giving Loki access to those archives, her assessment of the alien prince told her that his concept of morality was very different, she didn't think he would hesitate to take pre-emptive action to keep her creator safe and happy.  
Loki might not care about their happiness, but she was sure she could convince him that a happy and stress free inventor was an effective inventor, and for that to happen Yasha would need to be included as well.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Heart of a Legend·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“I'm not even sure this is a language, or at least not a single language...”  
  


Tony started flicking his hand at the holographic display of a page from one of the files, making it spin and tumble in the air.  
  


“It looks like he's been mixing languages and several forms of shorthand.”  
  


Tony reached out and stopped the display before grabbing part of the text and zooming.  
  


“This here, looks a bit like Japanese Katakana.”  
  


He quickly moved the zoom to a different section.  
  


“And this here looks Arabic, and over here, Cyrillic.”  
  


He could feel Yasha's attention as he started to pick the text apart.  
  


“This, looks like fucking cuneiform...”  
 _“You may have a point. We have been too focused on interpreting based on the assumption of it being a coherent language. Maybe it's more like a code, based in multiple languages.”  
_ “Fri baby, would you dig up everything you can on cryptography and ciphers, we need to look at this from a new angle.”  
  


Yasha watched as Tony kept spinning the image in the air, something was nagging at him, scratching at the back of his head.  
  


“ _Fri, could you cross-reference each symbol against known languages, including dead ones please.”_  
“Of course, how would you like the data displayed?”  
 _“Divide the text into new displays based on which script it appears the most likely to be.”_  
“Hmm, I think I see where you're going, break it down so we don't get stuck on trying to see the whole.”  
 _“That too.”_  
“Oh? Then what?”  
 _“Not sure why, but looking at it now, spinning, makes something itch in the back of my head... I want to have a closer look at the different parts when rotated.”_  
  


Tony quickly settled down and had Friday rotate the text in a variety of angles before leaning back to try to see whatever it was that Yasha was seeing and reacting to.  
  


“Fri, bring number 3 up and hold.”  
  


The requested display instantly came front and centre.  
  


“Rotate negative 30 degrees over 5 seconds.”  
  


The display performed the requested rotation and Tony could feel Yasha getting to his feet behind him, all deadly focus.  
  


“ _Another 30, same timing.”_  
“That looks familiar.”  
 _“There! Some of the script looks like it has been rotated.”_  
“I'll be damned. You know what to do baby.”  
“Of course Boss.”  
  


The displays closed down while Friday analysed the data again with the added parameters.  
  


“Now will you listen when I tell you that you are fucking brilliant?”  
 _“I didn't...”_  
“Shush, you noticed that rotating the image made parts make sense that didn't before, that isn't something any old schmuck could spot.”  
  


Yasha just huffed in response, he was well aware that he was intelligent by any standard, that was part of why he made such an effective Asset, of why HYDRA had gone to such lengths to control him rather than put him down.  
He just didn't always agree with Tony in regards to how much of a contribution he had actually made.  
  


“Boss, sensors just registered Loki arriving at the east balcony. I have opened the door to allow him into the penthouse.”  
  


Tony and Yasha quickly shared a look, Loki hadn't mentioned when he would be able to drop by again, but they hadn't expected it to be quite so soon, there was a question shared in the look and they both shrugged slightly before Tony turned to Friday  
  


“Invite him down please.”  
“Got it Boss.”  
  


Loki watched as the door opened almost instantly on his arrival, Friday greeting him and welcoming him inside.  
  


“Boss has asked me to invite you down to the command centre as we are currently processing data from a raid against a HYDRA facility.”  
“Thank you Friday.”  
  


He quickly walked over to where the elevators were located and stepped into the one Friday opened for him.  
  


“Welcome back, Mischief.”  
“Thank you.”  
  


Loki quickly offered the same oath as he had during the previous visit, promising to protect the house of his host, it was a bit out of order, but he didn't feel there was any need to be all that accurate, and it was confirmed when Tony responded by telling him to make himself at home.  
It was quite clear that Tony remembered the oath even if he didn't understand it, and responded in kind.  
  


“Friday tells me you have landed a successful blow against HYDRA.”  
“A few since last visit actually, but the last one gave us a nice haul of information that might just put us on the track of a whole new branch of HYDRA.”  
“Boss is being modest, together with a group of enhanced individuals we rescued 12 young children that HYDRA intended to indoctrinate into becoming their loyal weapons. Two of them being the twin daughters of one of the enhanced women in the group we worked with.”  
  


Loki's furious snarl and lashing magic when Friday described the objective of the mission had Yasha putting his hand on his gun before he had a moment to think, but as his mind caught up he relaxed slightly.  
  


“They better all be dead!”  
 _“I left no one at that facility alive save for the victims.”_  
“Good!”  
“Damn straight they're all dead. Yasha here went full on Winter Soldier on their asses, terminate with extreme prejudice and all that. And damn if it wasn't one of the hottest things I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing.”  
  


The flat look that Loki levelled Tony with only made him smile, there was a flicker of something in those green eyes that revealed the amusement under the mask.  
  


“What can I say? I have a competency kink a mile wide, and a danger one, and a power one...”  
“Of course you do...”  
  


The change in expression had been instant and Loki's reply held a delightful purr that sent shivers down Tony's spine and for the umpteenth time he cursed the fact that his kinks always had him drawn to all the bad ideas.  
Having the hots for Loki was definitely a bad idea, so of course his treacherous body and mind listened to those troublesome kinks and went all gung ho for the idea.  
It was a relief though to know that Yasha wasn't bothered by him feeling attraction to others, at least as long as he didn't act on it, though, Yasha did mention that he probably wouldn't mind sharing with Loki if he proved himself.  
  


“Tell me _Anthony_ , do you wish to control that power and skill, or do you wish to be controlled by it.”  
  


Loki spoke his name in a dark purr that sent another shiver down his spine, and a rush of heat to his groin, his mother's scolding couldn't be further from his mind at the moment.  
  


“Oh, either way works for me, I'm a total switch.”  
“Switch?”  
  


The confusion in Loki's tone made Tony laugh, earning him an annoyed glare that quickly had him sobering up and explaining.  
  


“Sorry, no disrespect intended. Switch is a term used to describe someone who enjoys being both dominant and submissive toward a partner. Or when talking about homosexual relationships, especially with two males having sex, someone who enjoys both penetrating and being penetrated, top and bottom.”  
  


Tony tried to keep the description as clinical as he could to keep from laughing, ranting, or blushing and stuttering, as he explained a few basic terms relating to sex and sexuality as well as related topics like BDSM.  
Tony was comfortable with his own sexuality and wasn't ashamed of putting it on display, but explaining the basics to an alien prince, that was a different deal.  
  


“I see. Someone who would willingly switch position depending on their partner and mood.”  
“Exactly.”  
“Midgard has some very odd practises regarding sex and relationships.”  
“We sure do, and lots of differing opinions on the matter. Fri, why don't you load up Loki's tablet with the whole LGBT deal, including the opposition so he can have a look if he feels like it?”  
“Alright Boss.”  
“So, Lokes, you wanna have a look at the damage done with the information we got in that raid?”  
“Please.”  
  


Tony didn't need to prompt Friday to bring up a display with the data, she did it on her own the moment Loki answered and continued by asking how he would prefer the information to be sorted.  
Trusting that they would alert him if needed Tony turned back to the documents in front of him, trying to make sense of some rather messy notes that consisted of a lot of sloppy abbreviations.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Heart of a Legend·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Boss, I think I have something on those notes.”  
  


Tony almost startled when Friday spoke up, too focused on the current notes to pay much attention.  
  


“On screen please.”  
  


The display in front of him changed to show a highlighted section of the cryptic notes.  
  


“This section here are references to a project code name Chimera.”  
“I already don't like the sound of this. Let me guess, genetic manipulation?”  
“So it seems. There are mentions of transgenics and recombinant DNA.”  
“That doesn't sound good...”  
  


Tony tore at his hair, genetics really wasn't his best subject.  
  


“The notes are vague but it seems they are trying to create enhanced soldiers with traits from multiple sources.”  
 _“The orcas and the squid, animal testing?”_  
  


Tony just glanced over his shoulder when Yasha interrupted Friday's report.  
  


“That would seem to be the case.”  
“We really need to find out where they are working on this shit.”  
“I'm sorry Boss, but so far I can't find anything that indicates a location.”  
“It's okay sweetie, chances are it's not in his notes. At least not these.”  
  


Tony leaned back against Yasha with a heavy sigh that turned into a half moan as strong fingers began working the muscles in his shoulders and neck.  
  


“Do you have the original document in your possession, the one touched by the writer?”  
“Yeah, of course. Fri, would you get it please?”  
“Of course Boss.”  
  


If Loki wanted to see the file Tony wasn't about to say no, if anything it sounded like Loki might have a way to find out more.  
  


“So, would it be accurate to assume you have more, magical, means of tracking the origin of a document?”  
“We leave impressions on everything we touch, personal items such as notes always carry an impression of our minds. A skilled scryer can look into these impressions and glean information from them. I am nowhere near as skilled as mother was, but I should be able to find something at least.”  
“Any chance that language mojo of yours could help translating the notes into something we can understand, like English?”  
“I am afraid the Allspeak will not be much use unless you can put me face to face with the one who wrote this. The magic must be able to touch the mind, the spirit, of one who speaks the language to absorb it, and once the language has been absorbed it can be applied to text as well.”  
“Oh...”  
  


Tony's face fell and a moment later he started slightly as Loki appeared in front of him with a somewhat concerned look.  
  


“Do not despair just yet, there may just be enough of an imprint in these documents for me to be able to grasp some of the language.”  
“Not despairing, just got my hopes up a bit too far having seen some of the crazy shit you're able to pull. ”  
“We will figure something out, there are still many options to explore.”  
“Boss, I think I should remind you that we don't know for sure if the author of this file was among those working at the facility when we took it down.”  
  


Friday's reminder had Loki scowling and turning a sharp gaze on Yasha.  
  


“ _Some of the scum involved weren't there full time, they'd only be brought in when needed.”_  
  


The scowl softens, but it's quite obvious that Loki is not happy about the idea of anyone involved surviving.  
  


“We have managed to track down a few of them and take them out, but we don't know if this asshole was one of them 'cause there's no signatures, only an ID code and it doesn't match the registers we have access to.”  
“So he may still be alive?”  
 _“It's possible.”_  
  


Tony watched with a not insignificant amount of concern as Loki started pacing, outright growling between grumbling that sounded a lot like cursing.  
  


“As much as I hate the idea of anyone willing to be involved in something like this still being alive it could prove beneficial.”  
“You think you could find the guy?”  
“Scrying for the owner or creator of an object is fairly easy. If he lives I can locate him.”  
“Then we go grab him and you do the Allspeak hocus-pocus on him”  
“The proper term for using magic in such ways would be seiðr.”  
  


The fact that Loki was calming down and not pacing any more was evidence enough that he wasn't actually upset about Tony's less than accurate terminology.  
  


“ _If we do find him, I'd like to ask a few questions.”_  
“Compliance not optional?”  
 _“Indeed, my lessons in enhanced interrogation techniques were_ _ **very**_ _comprehensive. And the Red Room did teach me quite a few methods as well.”_  
“Enhanced interrogation techniques?”  
  


Apparently Allspeak didn't do euphemisms, which could explain a bit about Thor's inability to grasp sarcasm and Tony's brand of teasing humour, but somehow Tony had a feeling it was a bit of a personality trait as well.  
He never believed Thor to be stupid like some did, while nowhere near as brilliant as Loki it was still obvious that Thor was highly intelligent, he tended to be hot-headed and foolhardy, but that was probably a result of not being forced to face the consequences of his actions.  
  


“ _Torture.”_  
  


Loki just nodded at Yasha's clarification, not showing any sign of having any opinion about the idea of using such methods.  
  


“I see. And the Red Room methods mentioned?”  
“Mostly various manipulation methods, like that nice little chat you had with the Widow on the Helicarrier, only Yasha was the master, and she was the student.”  
“And did the student ever surpass the master?”  
 _“At one time she did have the potential to, but she has lost her edge, become too concerned with her own safety to be as good as she once was.”_  
“Just gotta make sure, it won't bother you that we use those kinds of methods to get answers?”  
  


Tony had to ask, had to know, Loki was a victim of torture as well so it could very well bother him even if he didn't show any reaction.  
  


“No, it will not. The kind of beast that would do what has been done to these children, would even consider what was planned for them, deserves no mercy.”  
 _“I will do what needs to be done, it's what I was created for.”_  
“Yasha...”  
  


Tony couldn't help looking up at Yasha with a slight frown, there was something about Yasha's tone that gave him pause.  
  


“ _I will always be the Asset, the Winter Soldier, a Weapon, even if I'm not the Fist of HYDRA any more. Learning to be human only means I'm becoming more than just that.”_  
”You are Yasha, no more, no less. We are all what we are.”  
  


Tony just nodded in silent agreement with Loki's words.  
  


“ _You care a lot about children, don't you Loki?”_  
“Children are innocent creatures, and they are the most precious treasure of any society. They are to be protected, supported and guided so that they may find their own path.”  
  


Loki's eyes flashed brightly as he spoke, the familiar green of his power coming to life around his hands and Tony can feel the magic charm coming to life, telling him magic is being used nearby.  
  


“On the topic of kids...”  
  


Tony drawls with a hint of suggestion while giving Loki a very curious look which earns him an annoyed huff.  
  


“No, I have not fathered a wolf, nor a serpent, and Hela must be at least 50 times my elder. Nor am I Sleipnir's dam.”  
  


There is a hint of frustrated amusement in the tone though so Tony feels reasonably confident that he hasn't actually upset Loki with his curiosity.  
  


“Is there **any** truth to any of those myths?”  
“Like most myths and legends there is a grain of truth to them, but they have been twisted and embellished.”  
 _“And this grain of truth?”_  
“Growing up I would sometimes take in and care for abandoned or injured creatures. Fenrir was a cub, not yet fully weaned that I took in after one of the hunters killed the dam. She was an unusual size and colour for her species so they hunted her as a trophy.”  
  


Tony and Yasha both scowled, but nodded for Loki to continue.  
  


“There was quite a bit of upset when I brought the cub, but mother managed to convince Odin to allow me to care for him, that it would teach me about responsibility. So I raised him in the palace, but as he grew the others began to fear him because of his size, in the end Odin placed an ultimatum, either send him away somewhere where he could do no harm, or kill him. I do not know where he was sent, I don't even know if Odin kept his word.”  
“That sucks...”  
 _“They don't deserve being called hunters.”_  
“Indeed they don't.”  
“Do I wanna ask about the serpent? Or is that gonna be another shitty story?”  
“It is not a happy one, but not a bad one either. I found the egg while travelling and decided to see if I could hatch it and I kept him for about 20 of your years before it was once again demanded I abandon him because he was feared.”  
“Was he really huge?”  
“No, that part of the myth is false. He was no larger than the span of my arms and a slender little thing, he was clever and deadly though.”  
  


Loki's features softened into a fond, but sad smile before shaking his head.  
  


“Sleipnir's dam died birthing him, and Odin ordered the _abomination_ killed and fed to the dogs _.”  
_

Loki spat the words out with a furious scowl. _  
_

“I managed to talk him into giving the foal to me instead as my own mare had delivered a stillborn foal two days prior and fostering a foal would help her recovery. The foal grew and before long he found his feet and by the time he was weaned he was faster than all the horses in the stables.”  
 _“And Odin realized what he had discarded now held value...”_  
“When Odin realised that Sleipnir had the ability to traverse Yggdrasil he took him back, claimed that he had only allowed my mare to foster the foal, that he had never given him to me.”  
  


Tony could empathize somewhat with how that must feel, Howard had more than once thrown his failed projects or junk to him, only to take it back and claim credit, and the patent, after Tony had solved the problem or made an improvement.  
Though, it must be much harder when it was a living being, one that you had cared for.  
  


“That's fucking messed up.”  
 _“A cruel thing to put a child through.”_  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Heart of a Legend·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Loki's recount of the truth behind the myths left them all emotionally wrung out and unable to focus on the documents so instead they headed back to the penthouse and ordered food to be delivered.  
  


“Boss, a large raven just appeared at the east balcony...”  
“That is Munin, I would appreciate it if he would be allowed entry.”  
  


Tony recognised the name from his reading and instructed Friday to allow the bird inside.  
  


“I thought the ravens were loyal to Odin?”  
“No, their loyalty is to the throne of Asgard, just like Gungnir they are connected to Asgard, to the very life force and magic of the realm.”  
“Wait, I remember Thor mentioning something like that, the Odinforce?”  
  


Loki snorted at that and held his hand up, first bringing up the familiar green, then allowing it to be replaced by a shimmering gold.  
  


“So they call it now, but that power belongs to Asgard, Odin merely borrowed it and yet dared call it by his own name. He was never able to fully control it, not the way I do. It would overwhelm him, force him to hibernate to recover.”  
“Thor mentioned that too I think...”  
“The Odinsleep.”  
“Yeah, definitely remember that from somewhere. Man, that guy had, has, whichever it is, a thing for his own name...”  
  


Tony watched as Loki gave the raven a piece of his food and scratched the feathers on it's head.  
  


“He lives, but he is unable to reclaim the throne. Odin was not born with magic the way I was, it was introduced to hos body through external means. Now his body is no longer strong enough to hold the power of the Realm Eternal.”  
“What, like how a body would reject a foreign object?”  
“Similar enough. Now please, may I have a moment of silence to check what news Munin has come to deliver.”  
  


Yasha just gave Tony a sideways glance before covering his mouth with his hand, earning him a mock glare that turned teasing before Tony licked at the sensitive edges of the plates in the palm to which Yasha retaliated by nipping at Tony's neck.  
Loki didn't seem to notice their shenanigans though as he focused on the large raven, looking at it as if the secrets of the universe were hidden in its eyes, and Tony supposed that maybe it was hidden there for someone like Loki to find.  
  


“Thank you Munin. Return to your brother, stay vigilant, alert me if anything changes, if anything seems off.”  
  


Tony watched as Munin's feathers puffed up and Loki gave them a ruffle and the scolding caw in response made him smile, it held a softness to it that sounded equal parts cheeky and loving.  
A moment later he found himself being scrutinized by sharp, black eyes as Munin hopped along the back of the couch and for a moment Tony's eyes were drawn to the rather menacing beak, he had no doubt it could do a lot of damage.  
Tony will forever deny yelping when the raven jumped onto his lap and tapped his beak against the arc reactor.  
  


“He is curious about the power, the magic, he can sense from your reactor.”  
“He won't mess with it, right?”  
“No need to worry, he will do no harm, he only wishes to learn. It is part of why Hugin and Munin make such great spies, curiosity is their very nature.”  
“Alright.”  
  


Tony took a steadying breath, thumbing the hem of his shirt, then with a sigh he made up his mind and pulled it up, allowing the curious bird to have a closer look.  
His pulse was still hammering as Munin tapped his beak against the clear front which made Loki say something that was not translated by the Allspeak, making the bird bow his head, apparently apologizing, it didn't last long though before he scooted closer and pressed the side of his head against the reactor.  
A moment later Munin let out a happy sounding warble before jumping onto Tony's shoulder where he started sifting through his bangs while voicing soft clucks and something that sounds suspiciously like purring.  
  


“Friendly fellow...”  
“Oddly enough he has decided to take a liking to you, he usually dislikes everyone. He must really like the way your power feels.”  
  


Tony hesitated for a moment, then slowly raised his hand, carefully watching the reactions of the raven, and gently brushed a finger over the tiny black feathers on the head, making them puff up slightly.  
  


“Give him a good scratch, he will enjoy that.”  
  


Tony didn't hesitate this time and started scratching at the puffed up feathers, earning him another of those odd purring sounds, he never knew ravens could make sounds like that, or maybe it was a magic alien raven thing.  
It took a few minutes before Munin apparently decided he had enough scratches and took off toward the balcony door, cawing sharply as the door slid open when he got close.  
  


“Boss, should I add Munin under Loki's security file?”  
“Yeah, go ahead.”  
  


Tony picked up a small feather that had dropped while scratching the raven and slowly turned it over in his hand.  
  


“Does Hugin look like Munin?”  
“They are nigh indistinguishable from each other in terms of appearance and energy, but their personalities are very different.”  
“Alright so if Hugin shows up Fri will let him in too.”  
“Hugin and Munin added to Loki's security file.”  
“Thanks Fri baby.”  
“Loki, may I ask a few questions about them for the file?”  
“Of course.”  
  


Tony only half listened as Friday asked about their level of intelligence, if they would be able to understand verbal instructions in case she needed them to wait or move to a different entrance in case something happened.  
  


“Their minds work differently, but they are every bit as intelligent, and able to understand instructions, as your average human.”  
“Noted, thank you Loki.”  
“It is always a pleasure to help you learn. You are like a child in many ways, inquisitive and still learning how to understand the world, learning about what you are and what you place in the world is. But at the same time you possess every bit of your father's brilliance, it gives you great potential.”  
“Thank you...”  
  


Friday managed to sound downright bashful which had everyone smiling for a moment before Tony nailed Loki with a curious look.  
  


“So, anything you'd care to share with the class?”  
“Nosy brat.”  
  


Loki huffed at Tony, but he settled back down to share at least some of Munin's report.  
  


“Munin came here to inform me that the plans I made before leaving have come through better than I had hoped which means I will be able to be away from Asgard at least a week, maybe as much as a month if my other plans come through as well.”  
 _“Will you be staying?”_  
“That was the plan. And in light of what you showed me I was hoping to be allowed to join you in hunting down the monster that wrote those notes.”  
“You're definitely welcome onboard for that one. Doubt we'll be able to locate him without your help anyway.”  
“In that case, perhaps we should return down and begin?”  
“Sure, anything particular you need?”  
“Maps covering all of Midgard.”  
“You think you could work with maps on a screen or a projected map?”  
  


Tony's question made Loki pause and tilt his head.  
  


“I have only worked with physical maps, but I will certainly try. If only to test the limit of my abilities.”  
“Good, 'cause I don't actually have any regular maps so would have to order a bunch to be delivered.”  
  


As they got up to head back down Tony glanced at the tiny feather in his hand, unsure of what to do with it, he knew he couldn't let anyone get their hands on it, but he didn't want to destroy it either.  
He could feel Loki's eyes on him and when he looked up he was met by a slender hand holding a small, spherical, glass vial with what looked like a Quillfeldt stopper, runes ran along the base and neck of the vial as well as over the metal parts of the stopper.  
  


“Here, place it in this, it will preserve and protect it.”  
“Thanks...”  
  


Tony quickly accepted the offered vial and dropped the feather into it and closed the cap.  
  


“Typical, magic...”  
  


The moment the cap closed the feather had lifted and was now floating in an upright position in the centre of the vial.  
  


“They rarely gift someone with one of their feathers so it is a gift that should be treasured.”  
“It's not just a dropped feather?”  
“Hugin and Munin are magical constructs, they do not moult nor do they lose feathers unless they wish to.”  
“Oh...”  
  


He gave the feather another look, then put the vial in his pocket and turned toward the elevators.  
  


“Break time's over. Let's get back to monster hunting.”  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Heart of a Legend·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


They quickly decided to try using a holographic map first as it was the least likely to work and before long Tony was watching Loki pick items out of thin air, a small bowl made from what looked like black stone, a leather case and a slender knife.  
  


“May I have the original document please?”  
  


Tony quickly handed Loki the file and watched as he placed it on the table before placing the bowl on top of it and started to add various liquids and powders from vials and pouches contained in the leather case, then finished off by pricking his finger and allow his own blood to join the mixture.  
Every motion was precise, graceful, and accompanied by a soft murmur that seemed to make the air in the room vibrate with energy and Tony could feel the charm Loki had made responding, and the way Yasha moves closer made it quite clear that he was feeling it as well.  
  


Once the blood had been added Loki set the blade aside and moved his hand to cup the bowl, the moved them apart until the distance between them was slightly wider than the file and as he did green with hints of gold formed a fine web between them.  
Tony estimated that Loki had been sitting still, keeping up the incantation or whatever it was he was murmuring, for about 5 minutes when the bowl began to glow and a flicker of green light shot out toward the holographic globe that Friday was projecting.  
  


“It works, quite well too. It would seem my magic is compatible with your technology.”  
“Alright Fri, zoom in on the indicated area, but give me an offset, see if it will adjust in real time to the new location of the target area.”  
  


Loki looked a bit confused, clearly not fully grasping the instructions Tony was giving Friday.  
  


“Now that's useful.”  
  


Tony hummed happily as the green light adjusted, flawlessly tracking the target location when Friday moved the projection around as she zoomed and switched to a topographic display of the polar region of the Ural Mountains.  
It didn't take long before they had coordinates for the location as well as some satellite and aerial images.  
  


“There is one thing you should know before we make any further plans.”  
“Hmm?”  
“The one who wrote this, it is a woman...”  
  


Loki knew that some men had issues fighting against women, and that some would refuse to harm a woman even to save their own lives.  
  


“ _Makes no difference to me, a monster is still a monster regardless of the face it wears.”_  
“Agreed, but thanks for the heads up.”  
“Very well.”  
“Will this update if the target moves?”  
“It will. I have put enough power into it for it to last for several days, that way Friday can update us if the target moves.”  
”Perfect, let's get geared up.”  
  


Tony had a feeling that he would never grow tired of watching Loki shapeshift, the way his features changed was intriguing.  
  


“Welcome back, Fylgja.”  
  


There was a distinct cheekiness in Friday's tone as she landed the Eidolon on Loki's shoulder while they headed toward the armoury to grab some suitable equipment.  
  


“Thank you Eidolon, it is good to be back.”  
  


The teasing exchange made Tony shake his head and he could easily spot the amused glint in Yasha's eyes, and once again he found himself marvelling at just how much emotion he could see in those eyes, and how it contrasted against Yasha's rather cold facial expressions.  
The man had a tendency to always look like he was about to murder someone, even his smiles tended to be predatory, dangerous, at least his full on smiles, but there were other smiles, small ones, barely a twitch of his mouth, and those, those were soft.  
  


Once they had selected weapons and gear they quickly made their way to the Quinjet, they would make final plans on the flight to the target location.  
  


The remote base fell without offering any resistance and Loki's magic has easily prevented their target from using her suicide pill, they were not about to let her get away with the information they wanted.  
  


“ _Her willingness to kill herself is a good thing. HYDRA will assume she died before we could get anything from her.”_  
  


Yasha studied the small pill that Loki's magic had dropped onto his metal palm, at first glance it looked like a regular gel capsule, but he could tell it was hard, and his enhanced eyesight could tell the liquid had a slight glow.  
  


“ _Eidolon, can you give me a quick analysis of the contents? See if there's anything that could act as an alert that its been triggered.”_  
“Of course.”  
  


He placed the capsule into the mouth of the Eidolon, allowing Friday to scan it as best as she could, size made the Eidolons abilities somewhat limited.  
  


“It has a distinct radioactive signature, faint, but enough to be detectable with a localized scan.”  
 _“We will have to make sure to smash it next to the corpse then.”_  
“You might as well kill me right now, I'm not telling you anything.”  
  


Her tone was calm and confident, and Yasha was unable to detect any hints of fear, she was obviously trained to resist interrogation, even torture, and confident in her ability to withstand it.  
Yasha knew better though, no matter how well trained everyone had a breaking point, usually it came down to weather they could resist long enough to either be saved, or until they managed to push the interrogator into making a mistake, killing the subject.  
But between his skill, and the Asgard healing items and skills that Loki had explained to them, she would not die until they wanted her to.  
  


“ _Eidolon, is the room secure?”_  
“Yes Ghost.”  
  


Yasha took one step toward the chair where she had been secured, somewhat ironically it was one of the heavily reinforced examination chairs HYDRA used to secure him in when doing maintenance on the arm, or experimenting.  
Built to restrain his full power, even when the various experiments temporarily pushed him well beyond his usual limits, it was not something she could hope to escape.  
  


Taking one calming breath he reached for the Asset mindset before reaching for the training he had received in information extraction, with the mental mask in place he took one more measured step toward her and removed the muzzle and goggles.  
The moment his face was revealed her eyes widened in surprise, then gained a pleased, calculating look that told them that she no doubt knew about the various triggers to control the Winter Soldier, and believed she would be able to use them.  
  


“ _You might make me work a bit for it, but I don't mind having some fun, in the end you will talk. They always resist, some let me play for days, but in the end they always talk.”_  
  


Yasha's tone and demeanour projected a dangerous mixture of calm and anticipation, mixed with some thing almost playful, a gleeful anticipation that made Tony's stomach churn despite knowing it was mostly a mask.  
  


“Whatever you're planning it won't work on me, you trained me far too well for that, _Soldier._ ”  
  



	14. Of Men and Monsters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter that didn't really want to cooperate so it took a bit longer than planned.
> 
> Warnings: There are mentions of torture, mild gore/dismemberment and past dub-con/non-con in the first two sections, but nothing detailed/graphic.

.·:*¨¨*:· Of Men and Monsters·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Tony studied the interaction between the woman and Yasha, her words only confirmed that she knew about the Winter Soldier, and they had no reason to believe she was lying about him having trained her in resisting interrogation and torture.  
Using their top Asset to make sure other valuable resources wouldn't break easily did sound like something HYDRA would do, but with Yasha's memories still being full of holes there was no way to confirm or refute her claim.  
With the use of BARF Yasha had been reclaiming a lot of his HYDRA memories, but it was slow work, and for the most part they needed something to track, to lock onto, in order to find new memories, for instance repeating a known memory could trigger a chronological cascade effect where a memory of an event that happened very close in time was triggered.  
It was highly probable that meeting this woman, and interrogating her, would trigger memories of training her if her claim was true.  
  


“It won't matter how well I trained you, I will still break you.”  
  


Yasha moved slightly to the side to give Loki a clear line of sight on her.  
  


“ _Eidolon, would you mind scanning her? Wouldn't want any nasty surprises.”_  
  


Tony watched as Friday brought the Eidolon closer to get a good scan of their prisoner, Yasha was right, they couldn't risk her having some nasty surprise implanted.  
  


“There is an inactive tracker hidden in the distal phalanx of the 5th finger on her left hand. Scans indicate that dislocating the distal interphalangeal joint activates it.”  
 _“Thank you.”_  
  


Yasha's movement was lightning fast as he grabbed the left hand and used the heavy, vibranium edged, bowie knife to sever the pinky at the middle joint and Tony had to admit she was pretty tough as she didn't even flinch.  
  


“ _Cauterize the wound please.”_  
  


It only took a few moments for Friday to use the Eidolon to stop the bleeding.  
  


“ _Fylgja, could you check her as well please?”_  
“It would be my pleasure.”  
  


Loki's voice echoed a maniacal glee that Tony wasn't so sure was actually an act and moments later green mist began to seep from Loki's hands then crept toward her along the floor before wrapping around her legs and crawling up her body, seeping into her.  
This time she did tense but Tony didn't know if it was fear of something so utterly alien, or if Loki somehow had made his power cause her pain.  
When the green mist withdrew a few minutes later Loki shook his head, indicating he hadn't found anything of concern.  
  


When Yasha stepped back to the edge of the room to place the severed finger, and the tracker inside, into the makeshift Faraday cage that Tony had made the woman exploded into action, rapidly rattling off a few seemingly gibberish phrases in Russian.  
The phrases were familiar though, it was one of several backup triggers that had been encoded alongside the 10 words that triggered the compliant state.  
These phrases were supposed to identify a high value HYDRA operative in case one ended up in a position where Yasha might target them, when used the Asset would register them as friendly targets and protect them if needed.  
Needless to say they no longer worked as intended, they did confirm the user as a high value HYDRA operative, but instead of creating a mission objective to protect them it reacted with Yasha's self-appointed mission to destroy HYDRA making them a priority target for elimination, or interrogation.  
  


“Sorry, but I made sure all those pesky little triggers wouldn't come bite me in the ass when I acquired the Asset.”  
  


Tony kept his tone light and casual while closing up the cage, but he suspected his words didn't have nearly as much impact as the fact that Yasha didn't react to her attempt to use those triggers.  
  


“ _This is probably going to take while so you guys might want to get comfortable.”  
_

The casual conversation was intentional, meant to make the prisoner nervous and enhance the image of the interrogator being cold and indifferent.  
  


“How about we go check the kitchen and see if they got any decent food here?”  
  


When Loki nodded Tony stepped out of the Wraith suit and gave the command for it to go into sentry mode, the base was cleared and Friday was keeping watch so there really wasn't any danger, but letting the woman see Tony step out reinforced the image that they weren't worried about being interrupted.  
Once they were far enough away from the room not to be overheard Loki turned to Tony with slight concern.  
  


“Her resilience to pain is quite remarkable. The illusions I added with my magic would have most warriors writhing in agony.”  
”Had a feeling you were doing something like that...”  
“Did I make you uncomfortable?”  
“A bit, but not really. It's hard to explain.”  
“You have suffered at the hands of magic, that is reason, and explanation, enough.”  
  


Tony huffed and turned down the hallway that led toward the small canteen and kitchen area.  
  


“Her claim to have been trained by Yasha, how likely is it to be true?”  
“Very, the Russians used him for their Red Room to train girls into Widows, doubt HYDRA would have hesitated to use him to train their prized little pet monster.”  
“The suffering they have used him to cause...”  
“It's bad, some of the things they have forced him to do... Makes me sick...”  
“How is he handling the weight of it all?”  
“I don't know how the fuck he does it, but he's able to put the blame where it belongs, on HYDRA, on the handlers, but there's still a lot we have to deal with.”  
  


Tony sighed deeply as he started opening all the refrigerators and freezers to let Friday catalogue the contents so they'd know how much food they had.  
It was a constant struggle not to spiral out of control, but there seemed to be an endless stream of issues to work through.  
  


“Perhaps I can offer a fresh look at some of those issues?”  
“Bet you could, for some of them at least. Others, I don't think anything but time can fix those. Time, and trust...”  
“Hmm? You don't appear to have any problems trusting each other...”  
“We don't. Trusting ourselves on the other hand, not always as easy.”  
  


Loki's hand on his shoulder put a stop to Tony's flurry of activity, though it wasn't actually holding him in place, a slight nudge urged him to turn around and he let himself be moved, only to find himself faced with piercing green eyes that seemed to be looking straight through him.  
  


“You fear hurting each other.”  
“Yeah...”  
“He fears losing control of his strength, but what do you fear? Another Ultron?”  
“Probably...”  
“What fear holds you back from trusting yourself with him?”  
“...”  
  


Loki didn't push for an answer, but Tony could see the struggle in his eyes.  
  


“He's still learning how to be human. I... I don't want to...”  
“You fear leading him astray, afraid you will have an undue influence.”  
  


Tony let out a frustrated sigh and started pacing again while running his fingers through his hair, tugging at it as the frustration refused to go away.  
  


“You will not lead him astray. Creatures like us will not find guidance in the light, we need the dark, we thrive in it, the edge of the abyss our line, always taunting and teasing, a siren's song.”  
“I...”  
  


Tony tried to object, but Loki didn't let him, instead he pushed on.  
  


“He weighed his options and decided you were the one best suited to guide him, to wield him. I would say the fact that you are concerned about your influence over him is proof that you are indeed a suitable choice.”  
  


Before Tony could try to answer Loki showed a bunch of boxes into his arms, distracting him from the conversation, a distraction that he was more than happy to take.  
  


“Let's head back and see how Yasha is handling this, hopefully he'll be okay with us being there, seeing him do this, 'cause I don't think he should do it alone.”  
“No, he should not be alone in this.”  
  


They quickly checked the cart to make sure they had everything they needed then headed back to the secure lab where they had their prisoner secured.  
When they returned to the room everything appeared to be as they left it at first glance, but a closer look at their prisoner revealed a tightness in her eyes that indicated that she was in quite a bit of pain, but clearly not nearly enough to break her.  
  


“ _I can't remember it yet, but it does seem that I did train her, and trained her well.”  
_

Yasha had placed a pair of headphones with loud music on their prisoner and had his back to her to make sure she wouldn't be able to tell what he was saying.  
Tony used the nanites to have Friday relay his answers over their earpieces, while Loki had opted to use some kind of trick with the Allspeak, making it only translate his words to those he touched so even if she heard him speak she wouldn't understand a word.  
  


“Perhaps some of my abilities can be of use? I may not be able to compel obedience without the mind stone, but I still have quite a few things I can try.”  
“It's worth a try, I mean, she was trained to withstand interrogation and pain, not magic.”  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Of Men and Monsters·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Between the skills of Yasha and Loki, and with Tony and Friday playing the part of cold oversight, it took 6 days for Doctor Samantha Turner to break, and once she broke it took another 4 days for her to tell them everything, experiments, facilities, labs, names, everything she knew, every rumour she had heard.  
The sheer amount of information was staggering, and within that information were the locations and credentials needed to access several Darknet sites as well as a host of servers that according to Friday held held information on nearly 100 projects based on studies of things like alien biology and technology, artefacts of unknown origin, and individuals and artefacts with seemingly magical abilities.  
  


“ _I don't think she has anything else of value to tell us.”_  
  


Yasha adjusted the IV they had hooked her up to to keep her hydrated while he spoke and the moment he did she started telling them about how she had shoplifted to supplement her finances during her studies at the University of Melbourne.  
For the past few hours the information she had been giving them had grown increasingly inconsequential, she was still fully compliant and almost desperate to keep talking, but she had nothing of value left to tell them so she had started confessing every crime, every sin, real or perceived that she had ever committed.  
  


“I concur. I can sense her desperation to find things to tell us and she is not trying to resist my magic.”  
  


Loki and his magic had proven very useful in breaking the doctor, the moment he revealed himself, returning to his Æsir form there had been a shift in her resistance, she knew pain, she had been meticulously trained to withstand it.  
And Yasha had told them, when his memory of training her had reconnected, that she had been trained to withstand sexual torture as well, something that had left Loki furious at the way HYDRA had used Yasha, and part of that fury had been directed at the doctor as well as she had actually volunteered to be _trained_.  
While they agreed that she probably hadn't truly understood just how hard that training would be, it was still something she had requested in order to gain access to a larger portion of HYDRA's research and facilities.  
  


Loki was an unknown, something she couldn't predict and guard against, she didn't know what he was capable of so his threats affected her, he had laced her skin with a silvery venom while explaining its origin and effect to Tony and Yasha.  
It was rare due to being very hard to collect, the Vanir creature that excreted it was elusive, fragile and utterly benign, the venom, which tore down emotional and mental barriers, leaving the victim in a more suggestible and emotionally open state, was its only real defence.  
He had explained that the venom also formed a bond between the one who applied the venom and the victim, a bond that allowed him to sense her, to tell if she was trying to lie, the original purpose was to force the victim to feel the creature's pain and fear to make it unwilling to attack.  
Loki had taken full advantage of that as well, feeding her emotions triggered by his own experience at the hands of Thanos and his followers, and as she was unable to reconcile the feelings pushed on her with what was happening to her it proved to be quite effective.  
  


“Alright, let's wipe this place off the map then.”  
  


Tony rose and walked over to the small table where the emergency beacon and the suicide cap had been placed.  
  


“We'll need to trigger this and break that capsule a few minutes after we do, make sure they think attacked now.”  
 _“And make them believe she successfully killed herself before any information could be extracted.”_  
”Yeah, and the explosives and incendiaries I rigged will make sure they won't be able to tell when the rest were killed, or that they have been frozen.”  
  


Tony had been immensely grateful that Loki had been willing to use the innate ability of his Jötunn heritage to freeze the corpses so they didn't stink the place up, he did wish he had been allowed to watch him do it, but Loki had been adamant that he wasn't ready to let them see him like that.  
  


“This thing needs blood and body heat to operate, and it comes with a fucking DNA lock...”  
  


Tony had been studying the transmitter in as much detail as he could, and with Friday's help he had some pretty detailed schematics of the microscopic DNA lock, he really hated how advanced some of the stuff HYDRA had access to was.  
This beacon was light years ahead of anything on the market, even the grey market of the various intelligence organisations of the world, and Yasha's original arm, the way it interfaced with his brain, should have been impossible with the technology at the time it was attached.  
  


“ _Give it to me, Loki and I will handle it. Not gonna let you sully your hands any more.”_  
“Thanks...”  
  


Tony handed Yasha both the boxes and watched as he and Loki worked together to force the beacon into the muscle of her thigh and activate it.  
  


“The toxin is potent, we should make sure she can't exhale or spit it at us.”  
  


Loki cautioned them about the possibility that she might try to take them with her when they triggered the capsule.  
  


“ _Agreed.”_  
  


There was no hesitation in Yasha's movements as he reached out for the doctor and grabbed her neck then snapped it with a well practised twist before opening her mouth, placing the capsule between her teeth, and forcing her mouth closed hard enough to crush it then securing a muzzle similar to his own over her mouth to keep it from falling open.  
  


They walked in silence as they left the facility and boarded the Quinjet, none of them casting as much as a glance behind them as the detonation of the explosives sent a shiver through the bedrock beneath them and sent ice and snow rumbling down the valley.  
  


“Fri, take us home please.”  
“Got it Boss.”  
  


Tony immediately turned to Yasha and removed the mask and goggles that he had put back on before leaving the facility, Yasha might look okay but Tony knew he would need some help to fully return to himself, to shake off the darkness.  
Usually Yasha would be in the elevated combat state with the serum in high gear and highly elevated hormone levels, and their usual post fight kissing, or well, make out sessions at this point, would bring him back down to his neutral state.  
Right now however he was pulling deeply from the emotionless aspect of the compliant Asset mindset to protect himself on an emotional level, and bringing him up from such a state required a different kind of treatment.  
  


They had learned that the best way to bring him up was by having Tony act the role of handler and have Yasha give in and comply, at first Tony had given him basic tasks to complete, like cleaning the weapons in the armoury, or putting him through the wringer in the gym, the completion of the orders bringing him back to neutral.  
It had changed a bit as their feelings about each other, for each other, changed and grew, and now after finding that they both responded very well to an added sexual edge it played out more like a D/s scene.  
Tony had to be very careful though as they had no script, no manual, and no explicit consent, the last thing he wanted to do was make Yasha do something he wasn't comfortable with, but would comply with anyway due to the compliant state.  
  


“Come on _Soldier_ , you know the rules, no hiding those pretty eyes from me.”  
  


The response was a bit slower than usual, showing just how deeply Yasha had sunken, under HYDRA's control looking someone in the eyes had resulted in punishment for not _knowing his place_ , and looking away had been perceived as showing weakness, and been punished as well.  
  


“You are being slow.”  
  


The scolding was gentle but Yasha still tensed slightly and it was only Tony's hands on his arms that kept him from dropping to his knees.  
  


“ _Soldier_ , what are the rules?”  
 _”The Asset will not hide his eyes. The Asset is not permitted to touch the handler or himself unless told to do so.”_  
“And?”  
  


Tony pushed a bit as Yasha had left out the part about not complying to anything that made him uncomfortable.  
  


“ _The Asset is not to comply with orders that cause discomfort. The Asset has discretion.”_  
“The Asset has discretion.”  
  


Tony echoed the words back at him before taking a step back, releasing his arms.  
  


“Remove your gear.”  
  


While Yasha stripped out of his gear Tony glanced over at Loki and found that he was watching them with open curiosity, and a slight hint of concern.  
  


“It's the best way to bring him back to himself.”  
  


Loki nodded his understanding, he didn't stop watching them, but he did settle down a bit and Tony couldn't see that edge of concern any more, that didn't mean it wasn't there though, Loki was after all a master of masks.  
  


Loki watched intently as Tony worked with Yasha to help him back from whatever dark place their actions had put him in, it was a bit unsettling at times, but he remembered the rules that Tony had made Yasha recite, they had clearly done this before.  
Despite not doing anything beyond some light kisses and rather innocent looking touches the scene was practically vibrating with sexual energy that gave Loki a feeling they would be doing more if they had been alone.  
  


“That rule about speaking up if any of this causes discomfort applies to you too you know.”  
“I have seen shield-brothers do far more after battle. I have a feeling you would do more as well if I were not here.”  
“Yeah, we would. It's not that I mind having an audience, but Yasha's not in the right mind to make a choice like that right now. And I'm not about to ask you to leave either.”  
“And this will be enough to help him?”  
“Yeah, might take a bit longer, but it'll work.”  
  


Loki watched as Tony tilted his head slightly, he could almost hear his mind turning, then he found himself faced with a knowing smile.  
  


“You know, you don't have to stay over there.”  
  


Tony patted the empty space next to him, inviting Loki to join them.  
The small area where Tony and Yasha were currently resting had been modified for comfort, the seats converted to what must originally have been a medical cot, but had bee replaced with some rather comfortable looking bedding.  
There was also a thick mat on the floor, no doubt to make sure Yasha was comfortable in his kneeling position.  
  


“I promise I won't bite, unless you want me to.”  
  


Tony's teasing quip settled it and Loki moved over and sank down into the offered spot and moments later Tony was leaning slightly against him, he was still running his fingers through Yasha's hair though.  
  


“ _Soldier_ , give me your hands.”  
  


Loki was slightly surprised when Tony made Yasha move a bit, placing him almost between them, then had him bring his arms up and place them into their laps.  
The new position had Yasha pressed against Loki's leg with his head in Tony's lap.  
  


“ _Soldier_ , may Loki touch your hand?”  
  


There was a brief silence, then Yasha agreed and Loki allowed Tony to take his hand and place it on the flesh hand in his lap and he once again found himself reflecting on how warm Yasha was compared to his own skin.  
They had explained how the serum that enhanced him made his body run hotter than normal for a human, and the contrast made an excellent anchor for Loki to focus on to calm his mind and sort through everything he had learned.  
  


“Don't touch the other hand though, he can be a bit twitchy about it while he's like this. Might make him lash out.”  
“Of course.”  
  


Loki couldn't help recalling what they had told him about how HYDRA had handled the artificial limb, how they had performed maintenance that was equivalent to invasive surgery without any form of pain relief.  
Now was not the time to think about such matters though, instead he focused on relaxing, on leaving everything that had happened in the hidden facility behind him, allowing himself to be pulled along as Tony helped Yasha centre himself.  
He found himself somewhat unsettled by just how good it felt to be included in that, even if he did little more than just sit there he felt included and after a moment of hesitation he forced his body to relax a bit, to lean against Tony.  
He half expected to be rebutted but instead Tony shifted his position slightly so he could change hands on Yasha's head and place his now free hand on top of Loki and Yasha's hands, and Loki felt the tension bleed from his body at long last.  
The offering of acceptance and the companionship of shield-brothers was not one he was about to reject, he knew they were probably not fully aware of what they were offering, or that they had even offered it, but there was power, magic, in the bond of shield-brothers, and Loki could sense the first flickers of it around them.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Of Men and Monsters·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Friday noted that Yasha's return to his baseline neural and biochemical readings was almost 25% faster than normal and she quickly made an initial hypothesis that Loki's presence might be the cause, but she would have to study the phenomena further before coming to any conclusions.  
She engaged the specialised sensors based on the Tesseract tracking technology and scanned the passengers of the Quinjet, quickly confirming the familiar energy patterns of the arc reactor and Loki's magic.  
  


The sensors had initially been made to locate the Tesseract, or rather the space-stone that it housed, then together with Vision they had refined it to track the mind-stone as well, hoping to be able to find a common link between the two that would allow them to track any of the Infinity-stones.  
So far that had eluded them, but with Loki's help they had been able to refine it to detect magic signatures.  
As always Loki was surrounded by multiple energy signatures, something he had explained was due to his unique circumstances allowing him to wield magic from multiple sources and he had shown her how to identify each of the energy signatures.  
The ice based power of his Jötunn blood, the fusion of Æsir and Vanir magic that Queen Frigga had taught him as a child, then with his awakening as a true mage his soul and fate anchored him to Muspelheim, giving him access to the fire based power of that realm.  
Despite his deception his claim to the throne of Asgard was true, giving him access to the golden power of the Realm Eternal as well, his ability to walk the branches of Yggdrasil left him infused with that energy as well, and his shape shifting generated a signature as well, but only while he was actively changing, once the transformation was complete the energy vanished.  
  


At the moment however Friday was detecting a new energy as well, it was low intensity and from what Loki had taught her about how magic interacted and reacted it was not hostile, and as far as she could tell Loki was aware of it and did not consider it a threat.  
Reading those energies was still very new to her though so she would ask for clarification once they landed, for now she intended to let them sleep as they had barely slept at all at the HYDRA facility, not feeling safe despite having cleared it.  
  


“Sirs, we are approaching New York and will be landing at the Stark Tower in approximately 10 minutes.”  
  


She wasn't the least bit surprised by the chorus of grunt and grumbles as the trio began to stir, it didn't seem to matter how well rested they were, they always complained if someone woke them up.  
  


“The weather is a bit rough so please sit down and strap in.”  
 _“You want me to take us in?”_  
“Please.”  
  


Her reaction and processing speed may be far superior, and she could read the sensors of the Quinjet as if it had been her own body, but Yasha was still able to outperform her when it came to flying in bad weather, _Gut instinct_ they called it, but she didn't understand it.  
Understanding wasn't required for acceptance though, she accepted that something allowed Yasha to be the superior pilot between them, even her creator was able to outperform her in certain aspects of flying, though they took every opportunity to try to help her improve.  
  


“How about we order in some food and catch a shower while we wait for it to arrive?”  
  


Yasha and Loki quickly agreed with Tony's suggestion and soon a wide selection had been ordered via Friday and they headed to the master suite and guest room to shower..  
  


“Seriously, if I ever see a canned sprat again it's too soon.”  
  


Tony outright whined as he picked through the haul of food for some of his favourites, the HYDRA facility had plenty of food, unfortunately it hadn't been particularly interesting food, his best guess would be that whoever supplied the facility had picked up cheap canned goods at some kind of government surplus sale.  
  


“ _Oh, you didn't enjoy Russian emergency stockpile fare?”_  
  


Yasha's teasing tone made it quite clear he didn't particularly enjoy the food either, and Loki had refused to touch most of it, he accepted the fruit preserves and some buckwheat porridge.  
Most of the food stores had consisted of canned sprats, some kind of canned meat stew, bland sausages, pickled cabbage, potatoes, coarse bread and buckwheat, all in all, some very boring picks.  
  


“If that was the kind of food they gave you while under their control I understand your love for spicy foods.”  
  


Loki made a rather disgusted face before grabbing a few pieces of mango from the dessert selection.  
  


” _They rarely bothered with actual food at all. In the beginning they would usually feed me a slurry of fishmeal, vegetable powder and oil. As medical technology advanced they moved on to IV nutrients complemented by fat and protein drinks on long missions.”_  
“Damn, yuck!”  
  


Tony cursed and despite having a strong stomach the gagging was only half mock while Loki just stared with a look of utter disgust on his face.  
  


“ _Solid foods don't really agree with cryostasis, and the serum makes me resilient to foodborne pathogens, so they would use cheap protein powders intended for animal feed and mix with equally cheap fat and powder made from discarded fruit and vegetables to add vital nutrients and fibre to maintain digestive function.”  
_

Yasha recalled the taste of the slurry he had been fed with a shudder of disgust.  
  


“ _Once they were able to give me IV nutrients and glucose they pretty much stopped feeding me at all, just enough protein and fat to keep my body able to regenerate, and enough fibre to prevent digestive issues. Only ever feeding me more if I got messed up...”  
_

“They would feed you more when you were injured to ensure that your body would be able to heal the damage?”  
 _“Yes, they would supply the Asset with the nutrients needed to ensure functionality was not impaired.”_  
  


Loki's magic rose slightly at Yasha's confirmation, but he quickly tampered down on it and then forced his temper back under control, he had learned to recognize the shift in how Yasha spoke when his memories bothered him.  
Tony on the other hand didn't bother with controlling his anger and cursed up a storm about how HYDRA and their associates kept proving themselves worse than his every imagination.  
  


“ _Even after I came here it took a while to learn to eat without expecting punishment for doing so...”  
_ “It was a total disaster...”  
  


Tony's chuckle carried both amusement and bitterness, and it pulled at Loki, eliciting curiosity about what kind of situations could have occurred to cause such reaction to the memories, but there is anger as well, anger at the way Yasha had been made to suffer, anger at how that suffering in turn had caused to Tony suffer.  
Loki had quickly leaned that Tony was not one to do things by halves, when he cared he cared with everything he was, and seeing someone he cared for suffer cut him deeply.  
  


“ _You saw me through it though.”_  
“Yeah, somehow we made it through that mess.”  
“I understand if you have no desire to speak of it, but I find myself curious. What kind of events took place to bring about such bitter amusement.”  
“Your call Snowflake.”  
 _“I don't mind.”_

Tony nodded and they began telling Loki about the first few months, how Tony would have to order Yasha to eat most of the time, and the way Yasha had thrown himself at the food, damn near inhaling it once he did eat, and they mentioned how he would react when Tony tried to get him to slow down a little.  
  


“After a while we figured out that the best way to get him more comfortable was to make sure there were bowls with stuff like trail-mix and pieces of pemmican pretty much everywhere.”  
 _“Worked on you too.”_  
“Would you explain Pemmican please? The Allspeak is having trouble translating it.”  
“It's oldschool travel food, stuff like dried fruits and berries, nuts and dried meat mixed with rendered fat.”  
“Ah, a common staple for warriors and hunters to carry.”  
“There are several indigenous tribes in Siberia, Greenland, Canada and Alaska who make similar trail food using fish meat, roe, berries and rendered bear or caribou fat as well.”  
  


Friday happily offered additional information on the topic.  
  


“ _Tolkusha...”_  
  


Yasha's hollow tone made both Tony and Loki both turn to him and Tony quickly recognised the signs that he was experiencing a memory resurfacing.  
  


“Come on Winter Wonderland, what's that beautiful brain of yours showing you this time?”  
 _“An early memory, the Russian scientists talking to a group of hunters, they want to test the serum and the conditioning. They are ordering me to follow the hunters, but they haven't given me proper winter gear, they want to see if the conditioning is affecting my ability to improvise if needed.”_  
“They wished for you to be obedient, but not mindless.”  
 _“Indeed. They had plenty of zealots who would obey blindly, but a good assassin must be able to think and improvise.”_  
“A hidden blade rather than an arrow.”  
  


Tony found Loki's comparison somewhat odd, but Yasha nodded in agreement.  
  


“ _One of the hunters, a young woman, took an interest in me and would sneak me globs of her travel food, rendered fat mixed with scraps of dried fish, meat, berries and some kind of starchy roots.”_  
“My my, and here I thought you said you weren't trained to be a honeypot.”  
  


Tony quipped with a wide grin, he could totally understand the nameless young woman in Yasha's memories though.  
  


“ _Actually I said they would have used another asset for the job if you were the target, not that I don't have the training for it.”_  
“Seriously?”  
 _“The arm made me unsuitable for those kinds of assignments, but I was trained for it in order to be able to properly instruct the girls of the Red Room.”_  
“I have a feeling that your arm would only have made such a task easier with this particular target.”  
  


Loki's addition earned him a mock glare before Tony cracked and started laughing.  
  


“Damn straight it would have. That thing gave me one helluva tech-boner the moment I laid eyes on it.”  
  


Tony paused for a moment and gave Yasha an exaggerated once over before continuing.  
  


“Wasn't the only major boner Mr Murder Kitten here gave me though...”  
  


He gave another pause for effect while donning his best salacious smirk.  
  


“You should see the murder strut he had going with the old arm, pure sex on legs.”  
  


Yasha rewarded the teasing with an amused huff, and accusations of Tony only wanting him for his body.  
  


“I just happen to have a thing for tall, dark and deadly. Add a fucking brilliant mind and I'm sold. The drop dead gorgeous, leather bondage look is just icing on the cake.”  
“You are not one to deny yourself that which you desire, are you, _Anthony_?”  
  


Tony felt a shiver down his spine as Loki's voice did things to his name that should be illegal, and the way those green eyes lit up with amusement, then gained a downright predatory gleam, sent that shiver straight to his groin.  
He could feel the thrill of the game run through his body, the almost electric tingle washing through him, as he turned slightly so he could look at Loki through his lashes, playing at a coy smile and wink, he knew the description he had used fit Loki to a T as well.  
  


“Denying myself those finest things in life doesn't really go with the whole billionaire playboy image I've got going.”  
“Indeed not.”  
  


Tony's breath may have caught just for a moment as Loki shifted his weight, but the sinuous movement that followed had his mouth running dry, the loose fit of his casual clothing hid the lithe lines of his body, but he moved with an inhuman grace.  
The motion had something feline about it, but with an undercurrent that made Tony think of a serpent ready to strike and those eyes were glowing with magic, the effect was mesmerizing, drawing him in, but he was not about to surrender just yet.  
It took quite a bit more effort than usual to focus on, and achieve a controlled activation of the dormant Extremis in his body, but after a few moments he could feel the slight tingle in his eyes and knew they now had a golden orange glow.  
It wasn't as intense as the green of Loki's magic, and the glow was contained to his irises while Loki's power seemed to radiate out from his eyes.  
  


“A discerning hedonist, such an intriguing study in contradiction.”  
“What can I say, I've got great taste.”  
”That you do.”  
  


Loki only paused for a brief moment to study the glow of Extremis in Tony's eyes before walking over to the large windows and raising his hand, as he touched the tips of his fingers against the glass it came alive with a faint green glow as runes greeted their creator.  
The runes prevented anyone, and anything, from seeing what was happening inside the penthouse, the privacy ward also added extra protection against eavesdropping using methods such as laser microphones.  
  


“I do not know how much longer I will be able to stay.”  
  


Loki tried to pull his attention away from the temptation that was Anthony Edward Stark, but by the Norns the man had an innate ability to demand the full attention of the room, among mortals he carried himself with apparent confidence and captivated his audience with a playful charisma.  
To Loki however it was disturbingly obvious that a lot of that was just masks to hide a broken man, Tony was confident in his technology, but not in himself, he had been disparaged far too many times, put down by those who should have been lifting him up.  
Those masks had no effect on Loki, they were far too familiar to him for him to even pretend to fall for them, instead his attention was drawn to the maddening whirlwind of Tony's mind and spirit, Loki may carry the moniker God of Chaos, but Tony personified it.  
He was a galaxy of brilliant light mixed with the bottomless darkness of the abyss, barely contained by the insanity of his genius, he was chaos incarnate, and he harnessed it all to shape the future of his world.  
It made Loki ache to set him free, to truly open his eyes to the world beyond Midgard, beyond Yggdrasil, to make the Universe itself his playground, Loki wanted to see that essence of entropy bleed into the tapestry of the Norns, wanted to watch everything change.  
  


He allowed himself a barely audible sigh as he forced his own errant mind back into focus, he could dwell on this developing obsession once he had returned to Asgard, for now he had a promise to fulfil, and doing so should offer well needed distraction.  
  


“With your permission I would like to start working on the permanent wards I promised.”  
“Alright, why don't we head down to the workshop level and you can set up in the drawing room and get familiar with the building plans and materials?”  
“Materials?”  
  


There was something about the way Tony had said it that made Loki turn and seek clarification.  
  


“Yeah, the material affects the result, right?”  
“It does, different materials react differently to magic, and some are better than others for holding runes and enchantments.”  
“Got that part right then. Still tryin' to figure all this shit out.”  
“You are doing quite well for a Midgardian.”  
“Anyhow, I figured you might wanna get a better feel for the materials so I rounded up samples to play around with and had Fri make sure the plans reflect what is used where.”  
  


Tony's usual deflection almost made Loki frown at him, but the explanation that followed made him smile instead, true to his nature Tony had grasped the nature of warding quite well, and was now offering Loki the tools that would make his work so much easier.  
  


“That will indeed allow me to work far more efficiently. Thank you.”  
  


Tony quickly had set Loki up in the drawing room and left him in Friday's capable care as he wandered off to his cozy corner to go through everything that R&D had sent his way while they were out hunting HYDRA secrets.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Of Men and Monsters·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Tony made quick work of the design suggestions that R&D had sent over, it was just the usual minor upgrades and alterations to current models of SI phones, tablets and accessories intended to bump the numbers as the holidays came around.  
Some people would always insist on buying the latest model of everything, and others would take the opportunity to upgrade their much older models as stores cleared out their slightly older models during the many after Christmas sales.  
It was a good bumper to the yearly sales numbers, and it allowed those who couldn't, or wouldn't, spend a lot of money to get some nice upgrades, though, Tony did have plans on releasing a set of budget models through a new outreach project as well.  
PR would no doubt salivate at the idea of the publicity and goodwill such a project would bring, but he expected the board to fight him tooth and nail, they were a bunch of petty bean-counters who took pinching the pennies to extremes if they saw a chance to add those to their own pockets.  
  


When his stomach voiced a rather loud rumble accompanied by a nagging feeling of emptiness Tony blamed it all on Yasha, the assassin took his self-appointed duty of being Tony's caretaker very seriously and was never above collaborating with Friday.  
Ever since Yasha's arrival at the tower the two had been conspiring to keep him fed and well rested, and despite his valiant efforts to resist his treacherous body had decided to capitulate in the face of the enemy and submit to their machinations.  
With a huff he sent the completed data back to R&D and closed down the displays, gone were the glorious days of the multi-day binges without feeling the need for food or rest.  
  


“So, what do you guys say, eat out, order in, or actually bother cooking something?”  
  


The moment Tony spoke up pale blue and brilliant green eyes locked on him as Yasha put the tablet with his lessons down and Loki asked Friday to save and close his current project.  
  


“ _Either works for me.”_  
  


Yasha rose from his reading chair and tucked away the extra arm support that helped take the weight of the cybernetic arm, it was a lot lighter now, but it was still heavier than his right arm and the extra support had grown into a familiar comfort.  
It had taken him a while to become comfortable with the reading chair that Friday had suggested, the chair put him in a position somewhere between seated and supine which, combined with the armrests, left him feeling vulnerable and trapped at first.  
In the end however Friday was proven right, once he was able to work past the initial reactions to it he found that it was comfortable and helped him relax and focus, which of course led Tony to designing an upgraded version with a flexible arm to hold books or tablets and a modified armrest for his left arm.  
Joining Loki at the drawing table in the middle of the room Yasha turned his attention to Tony, looking for the subtle signs that would reveal his current emotional and physical condition, with everything that had happened the probability of a crash was high.  
He was well aware that he would probably be crashing himself soon as well, but he was better able to control when it happened.  
  


“I could use some time to roam the city to clear my mind a bit. So perhaps we could place orders and I go out to collect them and send them back here?”  
  


Tony considered Loki's suggestion for a moment and gave Yasha a quick glance which was rewarded with half a shrug.  
  


“Guess that works too. Fri baby?”  
“On it Boss.”  
  


A moment later the holograms above the table came to life again, showing a city map and menus from various establishments that offered take out and a few minutes later they had created a suitable plan of attack.  
With Friday's help they had drawn a schedule for placing the orders and a route for Loki to pick the items out to make sure he wouldn't have to sit around and wait for the food to be done, and to make sure they food wouldn't be sitting too long before he came to get it either.  
  


“So the food will actually stay hot, or cold, when you put it in this pocket dimension of yours?”  
  


Tony was eagerly trying to wrap his mind around Loki's explanation that his pocket dimensions wouldn't just allow him to carry all the food back to the tower, but would also keep it fresh and the same temperature as when he picked it up.  
  


“I have learned to harness and access several different ones. The one I would use for this exists outside of what you would perceive as time which makes it very useful sometimes, but it takes quite a bit of energy and focus to make use of it so I rarely do.”  
“You totally gotta let me get some scans on that sometime.”  
  


Loki tapped his fingers against his chin and hummed to himself for a moment.  
  


“Perhaps I can be convinced to indulge some of your curiosity, for a price.”  
“You're a fucking tease.”  
“Of course.”  
“Evil bastard..”  
  


Loki just laughed and allowed his form to bleed into the nondescript, ratty blonde that he had used before, but this time wearing a grey suit with a good fit, a look that no one would notice walking the streets of Manhattan.  
  


“You have an ID to go with that look?”  
“Naturally.”  
  


Loki held up a drivers license displaying the name Luke Walker and Friday's quick scan confirmed that it would pass a basic check, it wouldn't be enough for the places they would be ordering food from to let him pick up Tony's orders though.  
  


“Perfect, just keep in mind that they won't let you collect the food without proper security credentials as well.”  
  


Tony held out a Stark Industries security badge, a Stark phone, a pair of tiny earpieces and a pair of glasses similar to the ones he wore himself.  
  


“Everything you need to stay in touch with Fri, built in HUD and full Augmented Reality support.”  
  


Tony gave a quick rundown on how to use the items before handing Loki a clip with a sizable wad of cash which Loki accepted, though he did raise his eyebrow at the amount of money held by the clip.  
  


“In case you find something you want to add.”  
  


Loki wasn't all that familiar with the currencies of Midgard, he hadn't bothered with it as he could easily trick vendors, charm people to pay for him, or outright steal anything he needed or wanted, but he could tell that the money Tony had given him would easily feed a baseline human for a year.  
  


“Thank you.”  
“Gotta keep those visiting diplomats happy you know.”  
  


Deflection, again, but Loki recognizes it for what it is now, Tony's mask of flippant indifference, the intentional plays at buying his way, even the self deprecating humour, has grown transparent, and beneath it Loki can see how Tony tries to hide the fact that he cares, even from himself.  
Tony's almost desperate, and clearly well practised and habitual, acts to protect himself from rejection, from betrayal, is painfully familiar, Loki has done the same so many times himself, though with far more bitterness and anger.  
He had done a lot of growing since finding out his true heritage, and Tony's words about history being written by the victor, about demonising the enemy to justify war had left him with a lot of uncomfortable reflections.  
But it had made him look at himself more closely, and he had begun to see where that bitter anger came from, and in seeing that in himself he was able to see the early indications of it in Tony as well, a darkness forming from the way the rogue Avengers had hurt him, betrayed him.  
  


“No need to worry, I will be careful.”  
  


Loki stepped into the elevator before Tony had a chance to answer, to deflect again, to pretend not to care, and he trusted that Yasha would keep Tony together, the soldier was void and broken mirrors, darkness and reflection all in one.  
It was obvious that Tony avoided self reflection, if Loki was correct, and he usually was, the inventor feared what he would find if he allowed himself to look at himself in the light, feared that he would see what he believed others to see, a son unworthy of his father's legacy.  
Yasha's brokenness and inherent darkness allowed Tony to reflect without fearing what he would see, allowing him to begin the journey toward truly accepting his own brokenness and darkness.  
For a brief moment Loki envied the pair, envied how they were able to slide those shattered fragments against each other without cutting too deeply, able to make their broken edges fit together while using their mutual darkness, fire and ice, to soothe the pain and keep from bleeding each other dry.  
  


Loki shook his head to clear the thoughts and clamped down on that muddled envy before it could turn dark, before it could taint him, instead allowing himself a moment to entertain the foolishness that was hope, hope that maybe he could find solace in their balance as well.  
  


“Friday, would you care to guide me?”  
“Of course.”  
  


A moment later the glasses Tony had given him came to life, projecting a faint display showing him the path to follow to the first pickup and the estimated time before the order was ready to be picked up, and an estimated time until he would arrive at his current speed.  
Friday's subtle but effective guidance allowed Loki to lose himself in thought as he walked and before long his thoughts began circling around Midgard and the mortals that inhabited it, his first reflection being just how many of them there were.  
  


Manhattan alone held more humans than there were Æsir in all of Asgard, and it was just a part of the city of New York, the city was home to millions, and yet there were dozens of cities in the realm that were home to even larger populations.  
Midgard's mortal inhabitants may be fragile and short lived, but they made up for it with numbers, unfortunately the same could not be said for it's wild beasts, Midgard now home to only a small number of apex predators.  
Even the dark world of Svartalfheim, despite being considered a dead realm, still had many magnificent, and deadly, creatures roaming its desolate lands.  
Midgard had no lack of monsters though, monsters who, hidden under a human guise, roamed freely among their prey, monsters who spread suffering while wearing masks of innocence.  
These were true monsters, unlike most of the beasts of the Nine who were driven by instincts or biological needs these monsters were driven by malice and greed, greed not only for wealth but for power as well.  
  


But Midgard had a balance to it, the darkness of the monsters among its mortal inhabitants was balanced out by the brilliant light of those seeking to do good, and the way its population was constantly at war with itself kept stagnation at bay.  
Their short lives seemed to condense their passions, their desires, kept the realm in constant motion, always changing where the other realms were succumbing to stagnation, and Loki knew that for a species, a world, to survive it needed to move, adapt and change.  
  


Loki was still deep in his own thoughts when Friday alerted him that the first stop was coming up and he whispered a soft word of gratitude to her as he stepped inside and picked up the bags with food, it was an easy matter to turn the attention of people away from him, and with Friday making sure no cameras were watching he allowed the bags to vanish as he turned a corner.  
  


“You appear to be distracted.”  
“Somewhat. There is a lot about Midgard, about humans, that I have not properly considered before.”  
“You used to call them ants, right?”  
“I did, and for the most part I still do.”  
  


There was a moment of silence before Friday spoke up again.  
  


“You're probably right. On their own most humans are insignificant, like ants, but together, with proper guidance, they can build the most amazing things.”  
“Indeed they can.”  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Of Men and Monsters·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Yasha watched in amusement as Tony glared at the elevator door as it closed behind Loki's smiling form.  
  


“Asshole...”  
 _“You're just grumpy because he has you figured out.”_  
“You're an asshole too.”  
 _“Learning from an expert.”_  
  


Yasha teased softly while backing Tony against the wall and silenced the attempted objection with a kiss but the moment the kiss broke off Tony took a greedy breath of air and voiced the interrupted complaint while trying to regain his composure.  
  


“Loki's such a bad influence on you...”  
 _“I was talking about you.”_  
  


Tony's expression quickly turned into a mock glare and he tried to slip away from the somewhat precarious position between Yasha and the wall, but the enhanced assassin was having none of it, flesh and metal coming to rest against the wall, caging Tony's head and shoulders between them.  
  


“Evil assholes, both of you.”  
 _“Someone you care about seeing through your masks, must be the devil incarnate.”_  
  


When Yasha moved his hand to Tony's chest he just huffed and surrendered to the familiar pressure of metal fingers settling against the sensitive tissue around the reactor, allowing Yasha to push him back against the wall.  
  


“ _You_ _ **want**_ _him to see_ _you_ _, don't you?”_  
  


The pressure increased somewhat as Yasha leaned in closer to whisper against Tony's ear, but Tony could feel the restraint in the motion and as always the awareness of just how strong Yasha really was set Tony's senses on fire.  
The knowledge of how easily Yasha could hurt him, of how much damage he could do if he wanted to, had always made Tony's senses soar, and feeling those metal fingers on his chest was exhilarating, knowing how easy it would be for Yasha to rip the reactor out if he wanted to.  
Even if he didn't actually need it to survive any more the act still triggered the same feelings and Tony hoped that would never change, it had started as a show of trust, and now it was a gesture of acceptance.  
  


“ _Want him to see_ _ **you**_ _.”_  
  


Tony could feel the shiver building along his spine, it wasn't just the soft, teasing whisper against his ear, but the implication of those words.  
  


“He sees you...”  
  


Tony can feel Yasha tense for a moment and he knows it's confusion.  
  


“Yasha, not Bucky Barnes, not the Winter Soldier, doesn't expect to see anything but you.”  
 _“Always so concerned about everyone but yourself.”_  
  


Yasha hummed softly against Tony's neck before starting to trail kisses along the exposed skin, earning him a gasp, and submission as Tony tilted his head back to allow better access, after that it didn't take long to get him to relax.  
  


“ _Fri, could you give us a heads up when Loki is getting close please?”_  
“Of course Yasha. Would 10 minutes be enough?”  
 _“Yeah, thanks.”_  
  


Yasha knew that Tony wasn't shy about intimacy, and didn't mind an audience, at least not when it was someone he trusted enough to allow in his home, but they had also spoken at great length about the various concepts of consent.  
It had been a completely foreign concept to the Asset, and something that Yasha was still learning about, especially when it came to the many grey areas surrounding it, things like being in the proper state of mind to be able to properly consent.  
  


A prime example being his own state of mind when he slipped into the Asset mindset, the compulsion to obey his handlers was always present, but in that state it was much stronger, he was learning to limit it and resist some of the conditioning though.  
Because of that he wasn't really able to fully consent to anything Tony asked or told him to do while in that state, however, the carefully woven orders to report discomfort, and the blanket parameter _The Asset has discretion_ , helped to offset the effect of the compulsions.  
Yasha knew that Tony was still very careful with what he asked of him while in that state, and he knew that Tony wanted a lot more but was afraid to ask for it under any conditions.  
Yasha knew that Tony was afraid that his need to stay hidden, his lack of social interaction, and his overall dependency on Tony's resources limited his ability to choose freely.  
  


With a sigh Yasha tried to clear his mind so that he could give Tony all of his attention, but his thoughts kept drifting.  
There was still so much he needed to learn about being a person, about acting on his own discretion, about having agency, but he did know one thing, he had chosen Tony without reservation.  
  


At first he chose Tony to be his handler, everything he knew about the man telling him he was the best choice to accomplish the mission, then as he learned about emotions, about having a heart, he chose to give Tony that as well.  
He was a bit less clear on his reasoning for that, unsure if there even was such a thing as reasoning behind it, but if there was the main reason was most likely trust and acceptance, he trusted Tony, and Tony accepted him for what he was, never asking him to be anything else.  
  


“Yasha?”  
  


The concern in Tony's voice instantly had Yasha focused and he quickly set about to reassure Tony that he was going to be fine while also nudging him toward the comfort of the main sitting area.  
  


“ _Sorry, a lot on my mind...”_  
“Don't be, this mission was a bad one.”  
 _“That's not...”_  
“Might not be where your mind's at, but can you really say it's not why you're there right now?”  
“...”  
  


Tony did have a point, what they had learned, what they had done, had cut deep and it would no doubt bother them for quite a while, even Loki, though he was too damaged, too scarred to be anything but reticent about it.  
Loki rarely let anything slip the well practised masks he wore, at least he had traded the masks of cold indifference and scornful spite for slightly warmer ones, they were still aloof and tinged with a haughty arrogance, but they lacked the almost malevolent edge.  
  


“ _No, I can't.”_  
“You'll get through it.”  
 _“We will.”_  
“Together.”  
 _“Together.”  
_

There were no more kisses, instead they remained curled into each other, foreheads pressed together, sharing breaths, the rhythm of their hearts slowing, and synchronizing as the world around them faded and time lost meaning.  
  


“Yasha, Loki will be returning soon.”  
  


Friday didn't want to disturb them, but Yasha had asked to be notified when Loki was approaching, she did keep her tone soft and the volume low though, she had learned that sometimes it was better to gradually bring someone to awareness.  
She waited a minute, then reminded Yasha about his request to be alerted, there still wasn't much of a reaction though so she repeated the pattern.  
  


“Yasha, Loki will be arriving in approximately 5 minutes.”  
 _“Alright, thank you Fri.”_  
  


She watched them set the table, and when Loki arrived she asked for permission to actively scan as he brought the food out of the hidden dimension where he had stored it, and much to her creator's delight permission was granted.  
She kept watch as they ate, monitoring their interactions, carefully looking for signs of stress or shock, knowing that such things often didn't show until a person felt safe again.  
  


They were about halfway done with the food when the part of her essence that was watching the continuous stream of data between the various networks of the UN and Accords committee, as well as Interpol and Europol, pinged with an urgent alert.  
  


“Boss, Yasha!”  
“What's wrong Fri?”  
  


The instant reaction told her she had managed to relay her sense of urgency.  
  


“An international bounty has just been released for the apprehension of James Buchanan Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier. The background warrant includes charges of crimes against humanity, but the bounty specifies that it is only payable if he is captured alive, and able to answer questions.”  
  


There was a long moment of charged silence, then the three occupants of the room exploded into activity.  
  



	15. Of Designs and Delusions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some probably very inaccurate psychology bits at the end.

.·:*¨¨*:· Of Designs and Delusions·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


For a brief moment Tony found himself struggling against panic, then his focus shifted to Yasha and his mind ran cold at the flash of fear in his eyes.  
  


“Fri, give us all the data please.”  
“Right away Boss.”  
  


The displays came to life above the table, showing the warrants and the details of the bounty, which was ridiculously high even for a target as dangerous as the Winter Soldier.  
  


“Details are still being updated and an official statement is pending.”  
  


Friday showed them what she had been able to gather, but it would seem a significant part of the information was being withheld until after the promised statement.  
  


“ _That's a lot of money...”_  
“Yeah, that's gonna draw out everyone and their dog, not just the professionals.”  
 _“The conditions for the bounty look pretty strict though.”_  
“Mhm, wanted for questioning, alive and no major injuries.”  
  


Tony muttered to himself, the timing of the bounty and official arrest order was a bit troubling.  
  


“Fri, is there any indication that this is related to any of our recent strikes against HYDRA?”  
“None that I have found so far. But HYDRA would no doubt have agents within the agencies involved.”  
“Alright, keep looking though.”  
“Of course Boss.”  
  


During the short briefing Friday had explained to Loki a bit about how international bounties, warrants and arrest orders worked.  
  


“This will no doubt cause you a lot of trouble. But how much danger will it put you in?”  
  


Loki knew a thing or two about bounty hunters, about the kind of creatures the job attracted, there were of course those seeking to deliver justice, but when the rewards grew in size it would draw in those who only cared about the payment.  
And there were always those who sought out such lines of work for the feeling of power, beasts who sought the thrill of the hunt, who saw nothing but a way to sate their own dark desires without becoming prey themselves.  
  


“A bit, but not too much. Yasha is pretty well hidden here.”  
 _“My cybernetic limb will no doubt cause some suspicion to be thrown this way.”_  
“Yeah, but there are others with similar limbs of varying origin, and the new one looks different, and the anchoring has been highly modified compared to what's in your HYDRA files. So as long as they don't look too closely it should be fine.”  
  


Tony carefully focused on calming himself, on getting his spinning thoughts under some semblance of control.  
  


“This, the existence and identity of the Winter Soldier, being brought to the public eye could actually be a good thing.”  
“How come?”  
  


Yasha remained suspiciously silent while Loki prodded with concerned curiosity.  
  


“James Buchanan Barnes was a soldier. Captain America's closest friend and right hand man, Bucky, believed to have been the only member of the Howling Commandos to die during the war, has been hailed a hero.”  
“Someone the masses would sympathise with.”  
“Mhm. Reveal that he was in fact the longest held prisoner of war, ever, then add the things they did to him to create the Asset, the methods used to force him to obey...”  
“And most would see a victim, not a perpetrator.”  
“Exactly.”  
  


Loki hummed and nodded, he could easily see how what was happening could be manipulated for their benefit.  
  


“ _You have been making plans for something like this, haven't you?”_  
“Mhm, not the ideal situation to start from, but should be able to make this work, get you a pardon.”  
 _“But how? If you get involved directly it'll look suspicious, and Rogers would kick up one hell of a fuzz making things even harder.”_  
“I know. But there are plenty of Veteran's organizations and POW or MIA support groups who will gladly fight for one of their own. And with my recent involvement in Disabled American Veterans it won't be suspicious if they reach out for me.”  
 _“Rogers will still be suspicious of any form of involvement from you. He will convince himself and anyone willing to listen that you're after my life in revenge for your parents' death.”_  
  


Tony knew Rogers would no doubt be a pain in the ass as usual, but he did have a few plans for dealing with him.  
  


“Yeah, but the fact that HYDRA used you to kill my parents isn't public knowledge, and I doubt he wants it to be.”  
 _“But we do...”_  
“Mhm, that way we can play up the angle of doing things by the book.”  
“This would damage the Captain's credibility, making it less likely that your courts would assign him guardianship over Yasha, correct?”  
“Bingo.”  
“Hmm...”  
“What's brewing in that devious head of yours?”  
  


Loki seemed puzzled and somewhat concerned, which in turn had Tony concerned, worried he had missed something.  
  


“He must know that this information is something you could use to sway the public against his _Bucky_.”  
“He does.”  
“Then why not pre-empt you and use it to paint you as vindictive? He could use that to sway others to aid him in keeping you away.”  
 _“If he plays that card Tony can play the card that Rogers knew, and said nothing. He would be incriminating himself as an accessory after the fact by knowingly hiding a murder, and helping me escape the authorities.”_  
“He's already been tried, convicted, and pardoned for doing shit like that once. But my parents' murder wasn't one of the crimes he was tried for hiding, meaning he can still be tried for that if someone brings attention to it.”  
  


Rogers' past actions should make it easy enough to make sure the authorities would want him on a safe distance from the whole thing, but Tony knew there was a chance that some of Rogers' sympathisers had something to do with the bounty.  
It wasn't all that much of a stretch that the bounty, with its specification that the target must be brought in alive and relatively unharmed, was a means to track down Yasha while Rogers' was kept on a leash by the Accords and the terms of his pardon.  
  


“ _We can't know for sure how the Widow will advise him, or if he'll listen to her. But chances are they will bet on Tony bringing it up first, then make a play at him being vindictive and only interested in using the system for his own personal revenge.”_  
“So the information must seem to come from somewhere else.”  
“Two for two. While I make a point of staying away from it all Fri will be dropping hints in the right places. There's plenty of people out there just waiting for a chance to break the next big truth.”  
  


Tony had spent a lot of time and effort on making plans, not big ones, but hundreds of tiny ones, going modular, trying to make sure he would have something that could be pulled out to deal with whatever obstacles came their way rather than trying to make one big plan to cover everything.  
For now he would have Friday wake up the various Veteran's boards and chatrooms, spread the word that a fallen hero was being hunted, gather the fuel that they would need to light a blaze.  
  


“My knowledge of Midgardian law and politics is limited, so I cannot be of much help there. But I can offer a safe haven if needed, if the hunters come too close, call for the gatekeeper and Bifrost will take you to safety.”  
  


It was an offer Loki had made before, though at the time limited to mortal danger, this extended and reinforced that offer.  
  


“It would not bring you to Asgard, that would create too much controversy, but there are communities in Vanaheim and Alfheim that would welcome you both with little reservation. The dwarves of Nidavellir would be reserved and somewhat suspicious, but welcoming nonetheless, at least toward Tony, eager to learn about Midgardian metallurgy, smiting and engineering. They would no doubt wish to study that arm as well, and be willing to offer a safe haven, or even the proper hospitality of their homes, to do so.”  
“Thank you, Loki. I'm afraid I don't have much to offer in return...”  
“You have already offered me the hospitality of your home, even after my explaining the meaning of such an act among the remaining of the Nine. Even when I was attacking your home you offered me a drink.”  
“As a diversion, I was just trying to buy enough time for Jarvis to launch the new armour.”  
  


Tony tried to deflect, but he knew that Loki had a point, even back then he had his doubts about Loki's actions, after only seeing him briefly and hearing a few disjointed statements about him from Thor.  
  


“Oh, can you truly say that was your only reason?”  
“...”  
“This once I would have your answer please.”  
“No, I can't. Had my doubts about your motivations, the way you were doing things didn't make sense. Thor mentioned that you were a skilled tactician, intelligent, and that you enjoyed mischief and chaos. But he also said that you weren't usually malicious.”  
“You wished to see for yourself, measure my madness, see how my darkness would reflect against your own.”  
“Thor didn't give us much about why you suddenly went off the deep end. Was pretty obvious he was confused and bothered by it as well. One moment he would be the indignant and protective big brother, the next he would act dismissive and point out you were adopted.”  
  


Loki's face twisted with an old anger, and pain, at the mention of Thor's dismissal, making Tony reach out and put a hand on his shoulder.  
  


“He was hurting too. I don't think he knew how to deal with it any better than you did.”  
“I know. Intellectually I do know, even understand...”  
“But emotionally it still hurts like hell, still fucks you over that he didn't come to your side, that he hesitated. Hurts that he didn't come to your side and love you unconditionally even when you were hating yourself, especially when you were hating yourself.”  
  


Tony may suck at dealing with his own issues, but that didn't mean he didn't understand, didn't know about their cause, or how they should, could, be handled. It was just a lot easier when it was someone else, when he could be the observer.  
  


“It still does, I still do at times, loathe my birth, what I am, what I allowed others to make me into.”  
  


Loki sighed and his shoulders slumped slightly, he knew he was rambling and probably not making much sense, but he was feeling a sudden urge, a need, to explain just how deeply indebted he felt so he took a steadying breath and continued.  
  


“I owe you a debt that I know not how to measure. You have helped me reflect over these feelings that are unbalancing me, holding me back. You made me look at myself. Your words, your challenge, forced me to admit that perhaps my knowledge about myself, my blood kin, and the realm that raised me, was lacking.”  
“Hey, you've offered to help me protect what's mine, in my book that makes us more than even.”  
  


Tony carefully tried to keep his mind away from those troublesome thoughts that had begun to see Loki as his as well, but it was getting harder, and Yasha really wasn't making it any easier with his constant nudges and reminders.  
  


“In your book perhaps, but not in mine.”  
“Then how about throwing in a guided weekend off world someday?”  
“Perhaps.”  
 _“Nidavellir does sound like a place Tony would really enjoy visiting.”_  
“Oh I have no doubt of that. The question is how we would ever get him to leave again.”  
“Hey! No ganging up on poor old me!”  
  


Before Tony could launch any more mock complaints Friday announced that the official statement for the bounty was about to begin.  
  


“On screen please.”  
  


The large TV screen on the wall came to life and showed a nondescript middle management drone walking up to a lectern while shuffling through a few handwritten cue-cards before he spoke up.  
The speech that followed was every bit as dull as the speaker, the monotone voice almost grating as he spoke about the ongoing effort to eradicate HYDRA, and how important the information possessed by the Winter Soldier might be.  
There was a short briefing about how _Sergeant Barnes_ had been controlled by HYDRA to create the Winter Soldier, a few theories about programming and alternate personalities, along with warnings that he was to be considered extremely dangerous at all times.  
  


“ _This isn't making much sense. The Asset was a ghost for 70 years, how do they figure that this would help them find it? If anything this would make it burrow deeper, they should know that neither the Asset, nor Bucky, would trust them.”_  
“Only way it makes any sense if the plan is to try to run you into the ground.”  
  


There was a brief silence where Yasha and Tony just looked at each other, then both cursed and spoke as one.  
  


“ _Or run me into Rogers...”  
_ “Or run you into Rogers...”  
  


Now it was Loki's turn to look somewhat confused.  
  


“You believe the Captain to be the one behind this?”  
“Nah, he wouldn't want to risk _Bucky's_ safety by having people hunt him, even if the bounty specifies alive. Rogers may be lacking in some areas of training and education, hotheaded and stubbornly ignorant about many of the finer points of current politics and society, but he's not stupid. He knows HYDRA is still out there, he knows they want their Asset back, or dead if they can't have him.”  
 _“He knows they still have their claws everywhere, eyes and ears in most, if not all, governments, their agencies, and any organisation that could be useful.”  
_ “This bounty includes rewards for information leading to Yasha being found, and they are paying a lot...”  
  


Loki nodded but Tony could practically see the gears turning in his head, he was clearly on to something.  
  


“ _The high value payout for information can actually help us...”_  
“Information overload. People hoping for money calling in reports of anyone even remotely similar in appearance to Yasha. Leaving them to sort through rumours and false leads.”  
  


Loki was quickly grasping the flaws of the strategy of offering a high value bounty, realizing what Tony and Yasha were concerned about.  
  


“And with HYDRA no doubt being privy to every tip, every report, this could give them the means to find, and secure, their Asset. Something those behind this must be aware of, HYDRA or not.”  
 _“They also still believe I can be controlled by the trigger words.”_  
“At first glance this course of action does indeed seem a foolish and ill advised one. The timing is also strange, a bounty would have been more useful immediately after the events where Yasha's location was revealed. Now he would have had plenty of time to establish routines, gather resources, and places where he can hide.”  
  


Loki was quickly reaching the conclusion that the bounty wasn't really about someone catching Yasha, but instead the goal was to flush him out, make him suspicious about any allies and safe houses he may have established being compromised.  
  


“You believe the goal is to flush him out, make him suspect all his resources to be compromised. Push his vigilance into paranoia, and make him run to the one person he would be convinced is not HYDRA. Make him run to the one person he would trust to protect him at any cost. Make him return to the Captain for protection.”  
 _“It's the only thing that makes sense.”_  
“Still, Rogers wouldn't agree to shit like this, too high risk. He wouldn't risk his precious _Bucky_ like this.”  
 _“No, he definitely wouldn't.”_  
“Could it be a play to get the Captain out of the way as well? If he is once again found harbouring his old friend your courts would no doubt be harsh in their judgement, would they not?”  
  


Tony leaned back to consider Loki's words and he quickly realised that he made a good point.  
  


“You're right, it could be.”  
 _“The question would still remain though, how much of it is HYDRA...”_  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Of Designs and Delusions·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Loki spent the better part of a Midgardian hour watching as Tony and Yasha grumbled at each other, tossing half formed ideas back and forth, sometimes involving Friday, and he found himself lamenting the fact that he had not spent more time and effort on learning about Midgard's somewhat complex legal and political systems.  
As things were now there wasn't much help he could offer.  
  


“May I return to the drawing room? My knowledge in this matter is limited, so my time would be better spent shoring up your defences against mystical means of locating Yasha.”  
“Huh? What?”  
  


Tony looked somewhat startled and confused, then his brain let go of his current problem and caught up with what Loki had said, and he shook his head with a crooked smile.  
  


“I already told you, didn't I? I want you to feel at home here, _Mi casa es su casa_ and all that.”  
  


The way Loki tilted his head told Tony that he hadn't managed to get the message across properly, and after a moment he realised that Loki's Allspeak probably just translated the Spanish phrase, nullifying the added symbolic meaning that it held in most of the world.  
  


“Look, I kinda suck at stuff like this. But I...”  
  


Tony's voice trailed off and he ran his hand through his hair with a somewhat frustrated sigh, he really did suck at a lot of this interpersonal stuff, especially if actual feelings were involved.  
  


“ _What our tongue tied mess over there is trying to say is that apart from our private floor you are welcome to go anywhere you want to in the tower. For the most part at least.”_  
  


Tony gave Yasha a nod of gratitude before picking up the thread himself.  
  


“Some areas are restricted at certain times, for instance labs running dangerous or sensitive experiments or tests. There's a whole load of security and secrecy issues since a lot of SI's R&D stuff is being worked on here. There's also the fact that we can't risk people seeing you. But Fri is on top of all of that and will let you know if an area is locked down, or if there's someone there who might see you.”  
“I can also assist you by taking control of cameras and monitors to let you walk around the empty areas without needing to hide your appearance.”  
  


Friday quickly explained that she would be happy to assist in keeping Loki from being observed by the electronic security, she handled most of it, but the tower still had good old _Surveillance & Security_ control rooms as well, with actual people watching the feeds from the many cameras.  
Each of the regular S&S rooms serviced 5 floors of the tower, then there were a few additional rooms that serviced specific parts of the towers, like the main entrance and visitors centre, the SI technologies museum had its own security as did the parking areas.  
Specialised, single level, security was employed for most of the R&D levels to ensure high security and swift response.  
  


“We should make some proper security passes for this Luke identity of yours though.”  
“On it Boss. Permission to play around with government databases to make sure the identity holds under scrutiny?”  
  


Tony couldn't help the proud smile as Friday stepped up and took initiative, ever since Phoenix allowed them to interface her development had picked up, she was showing increased initiative and confidence, and she was developing a wicked sense of humour.  
He insisted could have done without the sass, but he knew it was a lie, it was part of who she was and as much as he complained about it he wouldn't want her to change for anything, she was his baby girl and Yasha had made him realize she was like a daughter.  
  


“Thank you. I will take my leave then, with this development I would prefer to at least complete a few wards against scrying. I did not consider that a priority before as few with the ability would have any motivation for scrying for the whereabouts of the denizens of the tower.”  
  


Loki had intended to add such wards all along, but had decided that warding against the gaze of Heimdall had been more important, his own defences made sure the gatekeeper wouldn't see him, even if actively searching for him.  
The gatekeeper knew about Loki's deception, there was unfortunately no way around that, Heimdall's loyalty was once again firmly with the throne of Asgard, Loki wasn't entirely sure how or why, but the gatekeeper had changed after his betrayal during Thor's banishment.  
Heimdall's power of sight came from his birth, he was born by nine mothers, each representing one of the Nine, making him a son of them all, but Loki suspected that the gatekeeper's power to have grown beyond that.  
Standing guard at the Bifrost he was constantly exposed to the abyss, and the cosmos beyond the Nine, and exposure to such things would affect even a God.  
  


Loki could deal with Heimdall knowing about him being alive, knowing about him ruling in Odin's guise, the gatekeeper had even approached him at times, reluctantly admitting that Asgard was thriving under Loki's rule.  
Had things been different he might even have called the old Æsir a friend, but as things stood there was just too much bad blood between them, and Loki needed his loyalty to Asgard more than he needed a friend.  
However, Loki did not want Heimdall to be privy to his plans, and he didn't want the watcher to know what he was doing while visiting Midgard, who he was with, and to ensure that he had to make sure Tony and Yasha were not overheard while speaking about him.  
  


“ _With this much money a lot of people who wouldn't normally get involved will be tempted, including enhanced individuals and those with knowledge about magic.”_  
  


Yasha seconded Loki's assessment that protection against mystical means of finding him had become a priority.  
  


“For now my presence keeps the tower shielded, but my time here is running out for now and I do not know when I will be able to return to continue my work.”  
“Been thinking a bit about that. If I get you a computer with the needed software and a portable projector, would you be able to set that up somewhere and work on it on your own time? At least get the designs done, then you'd just need to do the installation work when you're here.”  
  


Loki quickly nodded, he had been thinking about asking Tony if there was any way to print the information that Friday was showing him, and if he would be willing to do that and allow him to bring that with him to Asgard, but he had hesitated to test Tony's trust to such an extent.  
  


“It would help if I can make it work, Asgard does not power its technology the way Midgard does. The energy we use is very different from how you harness and use electricity.”  
“A solar charger should still work, right? It just needs lots of light with a wavelength in the 380 to 750 nanometres range. That's visible light, violet to red.”  
“The sun of Asgard is not so different from your sun. It is older, but its base characteristics are nearly the same, I do not know enough of your scientific language to explain, but any technology that relies on the light of your sun for power should work the same on Asgard. ”  
  


Loki was pleased to see Tony already working on ways to bridge the technological differences between Midgard and the other realms.  
  


“If not I can always make an arc based power supply.”  
  


Tony hummed to himself, then decided that he might as well make a proper power supply since the holographic projector was a bit of a power hog.  
  


“Probably better to just make one of those, solar chargers aren't all that effective, and the projector uses a lot of power. Might send along a few sensors though, would love to have some readings from Asgard to look at.”  
  


Loki and Yasha shared an amused look as they rose and followed Tony who was already headed toward the elevator, rambling half to himself, half to Friday.  
  


“Fri, you keep an eye on that stuff and let me know if anything pops up, okay?”  
“Of course Boss. I have started making posts on suitable forums to make sure the issue is brought to attention. And I have devoted extra resources to tracking Rogers and his contacts in case he decides to go off the reservation again when he finds out.”  
“Thanks baby.”  
  


Fortunately Rogers was currently on a mission, with radio silence, so it would take a while before he found out about the bounty, but once he did, things would probably get interesting, Romanoff and Wilson might try to hold him back, but it wasn't a certainty.  
Even if they did try Rogers might just ignore them anyway, he had already proven himself less than rational when his old buddy was involved, hotheaded and willing to do anything to protect his _Bucky_ from any threat, real or perceived.  
Somewhat ironically that also made Rogers a threat.  
  


Tony could understand that burning need to protect what was yours, but he didn't understand the way Rogers seemed to lose all rhyme and reason, if he had brought Yasha in instead of urging him to run so much trouble could have been avoided.  
Instead Rogers decided that his Bucky was innocent, and anyone questioning that was wrong, evil, and just out to hurt him.  
It didn't matter if they just wanted to go through the proper channels to ascertain the level of agency the Asset had been capable of, something that would have a very good chance to, if not all out proving him innocent, at least prove that he couldn't be held culpable for his actions under HYDRA's control.  
  


The current mess quickly slipped from Tony's mind as he started working on designing a portable mainframe with enough power to support a scaled back copy of Friday's AI core, and by the time they entered the drawing room he was barely aware of Yasha and Loki.  
He did mumble a distracted Thanks when a plate with snacks and a cup of coffee was set down next to him, but beyond that he was lost in his own mind.  
  


“Hey, Lokes? Mind answering a few questions about those pocket dimensions of yours? And the way you've been getting between here and Asgard?”  
  


Loki could feel the eager anticipation as Tony focused on him, and there was an edge of almost childish wonder as well that made him want to answer, want to teach.  
  


“Not at all, might not answer all of them though.”  
“Just need to know if they come with a weight limit.”  
“Weight limit?”  
“Yeah, is there a limit on how heavy, or large, stuff you can bring with you, or put in there?”  
  


It wasn't really something Loki usually considered as he knew his own limits well.  
  


“It depends on how I access Yggdrasil. If I use a passage where I need to push through the veil I am limited by what I can lift and carry. But if I access it through an open crack I could bring a vehicle and as much cargo as it is able to carry.”  
“Which one is the way you get here?”  
“The former, I can bring what I can carry.”  
“And these pocket dimensions?”  
“They are limited by size more than weight, it takes power and focus to open a portal into them, the larger it is, the more power it takes.”  
“Let me guess, the power needed is exponentially proportional to the size of the opening?”  
  


Loki tilted his head slightly while trying to figure out how Tony's words translated into something he knew.  
  


“Fri, could you put a visual example on screen?”  
“Of course Boss.”  
  


The display instantly came to life showing an empty glass and a bright dot, then the dot expanded into a small circle and the glass filled up with water as it slowly expanded, then as it expanded further the glass became a bucket, a swimming pool, then an ocean.  
The way it was displayed made it easy for Loki to grasp the concept and he nodded slowly, it was an accurate representation for how the power requirement to open the passage increased with the size.  
  


“Yes, that would be accurate.”  
“Alright. I'll try to get a reasonable balance between size and weight then. Shouldn't be heavier than what Yasha can carry, and the size should be about...”  
  


Tony quickly looked around but didn't see anything suitable as an example.  
  


“Fri, could you give me a to scale projection of one of those big Samsonite suitcases?”  
“The 80 centimetre one?”  
“Please.”  
“Right away.”  
  


The display came to life again and Tony nodded toward it.  
  


“I can fit the mainframe into a case that size, and then the projectors and other peripherals in a second one. Small enough to be manageable?”  
  


Tony didn't doubt that Loki would be able to handle the weight, he may be seriously slender, but his alien physiology made him insanely strong, not quite as strong as Thor, but a lot closer than the apparent difference in muscle mass would suggest.  
  


”Yes.”  
“Perfect.”  
  


Loki shook his head as Tony just returned to his designs without any further interaction, and a quick glance at Yasha revealed a knowing, and somewhat indulgent, smile, before he refocused on his lessons.  
For a moment Loki found himself nearly overwhelmed by how comfortable it felt to share the workspace with Tony and Yasha, it felt safe, right, and a bit strange, he wasn't accustomed to being able to work on magic without being judged.  
It also felt a bit strange to see an accomplished warrior like Yasha actively seeking knowledge in topics that were not directly connected to battle, the warriors of Asgard would rarely study books, the few times they did it was usually stories about historical battles.  
Even the study of historical battles was usually done through oral tradition, stories shared between warriors around the fires at night.  
  


Loki had been watching Yasha as he studied, and had taken a look at his books, according to the titles the subjects he was studying was Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy, Chemistry and Biology, it was quite different from how studies were done in Asgard, but it was a simple enough system to understand.  
Friday had explained that other than mathematics the subjects were considered part of the larger field referred to as Natural Science, while mathematics was required to understand many aspects of the other subjects.  
Yasha was clearly intelligent, more so than most humans, and he had received schooling in a wide range of subjects during his time as the Asset, but it was incomplete as they had only bothered teaching him what was needed rather than giving him full knowledge of the subjects.  
There was also the issue that Midgard required formal documentation to prove a student had properly mastered their chosen level of studies, something Yasha's former masters, for quite natural reasons, had not been concerned with.  
  


Loki had been very happy when Yasha offered him to study the books if he wanted to, though he found that he lacked a lot of the background knowledge required to be able to understand the lessons, such as Midgardian mathematics.  
Perhaps he should ask about books intended for entry level students and learn the Midgardian way, it could prove useful, especially since he was feeling an ever increasing urge to leave Asgard and set up on Midgard.  
It was the kind of deep rooted urge that Loki had learned to trust at an early age, the kind of urge that Frigga had described as the _Wyrd Calling_ , one of the many tools used by the Norns to guide individuals to the path of their ideal destiny.  
  


It would have to be a question for a later time though, for now he needed to complete the wards against scrying, not just for the tower, but a personal ward that Yasha could carry with him.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Of Designs and Delusions·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Tony, may I have a moment of your time?”  
“Gimme five to round this up.”  
  


Loki nodded and settled back to give the designs he had been working on another quick check.  
  


“So, what can I do for you Frosty?”  
“I could do with a bit of feedback on the feasibility of these solutions.”  
“Sure thing, walk me through it.”  
  


Loki quickly brought up the designs for the ward that would protect the tower.  
  


“The energy of your arc reactor permeates the tower, this energy would be a near ideal medium to carry and hold the ward...”  
“Let me guess, it would require access to the reactor itself?”  
“Ideally, but I understand that it is not something you would be comfortable with.”  
“Yeah, not a comforting idea, no offence.”  
“None taken.”  
“So, what are the backup ideas?”  
  


Tony didn't doubt that Loki had several backups.  
  


“Those smaller reactors, can you connect them to the energy current of the tower?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Would you be willing to allow me to work the ward into one of those?”  
“Wait, you're saying that if you do that to one of the miniature reactors and I connect that to the tower grid, that would make it spread in the entire tower?”  
“Yes.”  
“Alright, that's pretty fucking cool...”  
  


Tony's reaction made Loki snort in amusement, and the eager energy was contagious.  
  


“Hold on, I'll be right back.”  
  


Tony bolted from the drawing room and Loki could hear his feet skid as he ran toward the workshop.  
  


“ _Now you've done it.”_  
  


Yasha's amused quip actually left Loki somewhat concerned to see what Tony was up to.  
  


“Ta-da!”  
  


Loki had drifted so deeply into his own thoughts that he actually startled slightly when Tony skidded back into the room with a black metal case in his arms, holding it up like a trophy.  
  


“Think you could work with these?”  
  


Tony placed the case on the table and opened it up to reveal row after row of the reactors he had created to power some of his tech, and Yasha's arm, with a diameter no more than a quarter of that of his usual miniature reactors they were outright tiny.  
  


“Beautiful...”  
  


Loki traced a slender finger along the edge of one of the reactors, the motion, and his tone, was almost reverent.  
  


“You think you could make it work with these?”  
“They would definitely work. But it will be a challenge to make the rune design small enough, and inscribing it in this material will be tough as well.”  
“Does it matter how the runes are inscribed?”  
“How do you mean?”  
“Do you need to do it yourself, like add magic while you do it. Or would it be okay if a machine makes it as long as the pattern is the same?”  
“The rune design is what matters, not how it is inscribed.”  
“Fri, queue up some info in laser engraving and laser inscription of diamonds.”  
“On it Boss.”  
  


Tony enjoyed the way Loki's eyes widened as Friday showed him a video about how diamonds were inscribed with identification numbers using laser engraving technology.  
There were several laser inscription machines in the tower as they were used to inscribe identification numbers on pretty much everything that was built in the various workshops.  
  


“So, do you think that would work?”  
  


Tony had waited until the videos were done playing and Friday had answered a few questions that arose.  
  


“It should.”  
“A few more questions just to iron out the practical details.”  
“Of course.”  
“Does the cover have to be in the reactor while being inscribed, or could the runes be inscribed into one of the spare covers then just replace it?”  
“If the covers are removable it would work to inscribe them while not attached.”  
“Great, I'd prefer not to put a fully operational reactor into the machine, it could have unforeseen side-effects.”  
  


A moment later Tony vanished back to his own workstation and started pulling at the hovering lights again and Loki shook his head, it was taking time to get used to the way the man's attention would flick from one thing to another, and his activity change from stillness to the flurry that was reminiscent of a hurricane.  
  


“Friday, could you assist with a projection of these covers so I can see how much room I have to work with?”  
“Of course. Would you like me to load it up in the design program for the laser engraving machine?”  
“You will have to walk me through it.”  
“I will. Boss has asked me to help you as much as I can.”  
  


Loki found himself impressed with the capabilities of the machine as Friday showed him just how small, and precise, they could make the designs, he would be able to fit some very intricate rune work into the cover despite it being less than two fingers across.  
  


Loki quickly became so engrossed in his work with Friday that he didn't notice that Tony had joined Yasha, and that both had been watching him for a good while, silently conversing using a mix of Yasha's tablet and Tony's nanites..  
  


“He's scary smart.”  
 _“And you find it attractive.”  
_ “Very...”  
  


It wasn't a question, and there was no judgement, just acceptance and a hint of amusement, as far as Tony could tell Yasha truly understood, and didn't feel threatened by his poly tendencies.  
It had been an issue with Pepper, she was very much the monogamous type so Tony had struggled to rein himself in, wanting to make it work, but it was just one more straw on the back of the proverbial camel, one more lie.  
He hadn't seen it then, but he did see and understand it a bit better now, it wasn't lies in the usual sense, but in trying to be who she wanted, who he believed she deserved, he was being untrue to both himself and her.  
  


“ _It makes him a valuable ally.”_  
“Definitely. I'd hate to face off against him if he's actually trying to win.”  
  


Yasha didn't respond to that, he hadn't been awake for the invasion and the information that he had received on it as part of his briefing for Project Insight had been rudimentary at best, only mentioned because of HYDRA's interest in Loki's sceptre and the Tesseract.  
  


“ _He works well with Fri.”_  
  


Tony happily grabbed at the shift of topic.  
  


“Yeah, I think this could be really good for her. His way of thinking is similar enough to give her something to go off, and yet completely alien, challenging her to figure him out.”  
 _“And he seems happy to learn from her.”_  
“Yeah, he's a glutton for knowledge.”  
 _“Knowledge is power.”_  
“...”  
  


Tony sucked in a breath and almost groaned at Yasha's teasing, because that was what it was, poking at his kinks, he didn't need to feel the way Yasha's body shook with a silent chuckle, or the soft brush of metal fingers along his spine to know that.  
With a huff Tony retaliated by letting his fingers brush along the scars from the old shoulder mooring, they were a lot less pronounced now with the new arm, and they didn't hurt any more, but they were still very sensitive to touch.  
  


“ _Tease.”_  
“Pot, meet kettle”  
  


The pair quickly settled back down to watch as Loki figured the design program out with Friday's help, and Tony watched with avid curiosity as the two taught each other, with the nanites he could feel the way Friday was expanding and making new connections as she interpreted Loki's words.  
  


The Allspeak was a bit touch and go with the AI sometimes as it relied partially on the perception of the one listening, not just the one speaking, but Loki had explained that he was able to manipulate it so his words would be heard as English.  
Right now the Allspeak was showing one of its weaknesses, it wasn't very good for translation technical terms and specialised language, anything that was rarely used in conversation was harder to translate.  
  


Loki was quickly learning actual English though and from what Tony could see in the data stream he would occasionally say something to Friday without using the Allspeak, it wasn't really a big difference, but somehow it felt less formal when he actually spoke English.  
The Allspeak would translate into some odd turns of phrases and didn't seem to do contractions, together it made for what sounded, for the most part, like some kind of old, formal, British English, or using the vernacular, a bit on the posh side.  
When he actually spoke English he seemed to be using a fairly modern style with contractions giving it a less formal feel, and the accent sounded more American than British, something that would help him blend in.  
He didn't seem to be comfortable using it other than with Friday though, and if Tony had to make a guess he would say he was being a bit self-conscious about it, which made sense as Loki did come across as a bit of a perfectionist, especially toward himself.  
It was something Tony could relate to, he definitely understood how being held to unattainable ideals during the formative years of childhood and adolescence could make someone develop an outright neurotic perfectionism.  
Tony sighed to himself and shook the thought away to focus on what Loki was having Friday help him create.  
  


“Friday, you can assist me in making accurate geometrical figures, correct?”  
“Of course, just tell me what you need.”  
“I apologise ahead of time for not knowing the proper Midgardian terms.”  
“Don't worry, we'll figure it out. Boss insists it's good practice for me to try to figure things out.”  
“Start with a circle, then mark nine points of equal distance around it and connect them with straight lines.”  
  


Friday instantly drew the circle and marked nine points before pausing.  
  


“A polygon with nine sides is called a nonagon, or an ennagon.”  
“Thank you.”  
“I need clarification on how you want the connecting lines drawn, a perimeter for an ennagon, or do you want the figure to be an enneagram?”  
“Would I be correct to assume that an enneagram would be a nine pointed star, the way a pentagram is a five pointed star?”  
“Correct.”  
“An enneagram it is then.”  
“There are multiple ways to draw one, the most complex being a complete graph where all points are connected to each other. The more basic forms only have two lines connecting and can be drawn either as a continuous line with obtuse or acute angles, or as three separate triangles.”  
“The first, all points connected to each other.”  
  


As the two spoke back and forth an intricate design began to come to life, far more complex than the ones Loki had shown Tony before as he explored the new horizons given by the capabilities of laser engraving.  
  


“Expand each point to a circle.”  
“Size?”  
  


Loki just reached over and manipulated one of the initial circles that Friday had added and without prompting the others changed to match.  
  


“Can you widen these lines enough to allow runes to be written on then?”  
“Of course. Would this be acceptable?”  
“Perfect.”  
  


Loki marvelled at the flexibility of the design method, and the detail he could fit was nothing short of astounding, the design he was testing it with was the large warding circle that had been created at the heart of the Asgard palace.  
That circle was the size of the throne room and acted as the anchor for all of the wards and barriers that protected the palace, and being tapped into the very flow of Asgard's natural energy it also bolstered her outer defences.  
To be able to duplicate that on such a tiny surface was amazing in its own right, but if he was right, and the reactor would be able to fully power it, it could change a lot, it would make it possible to erect those defences around a mobile location, like a camp, or a ship.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Of Designs and Delusions·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Boss, Rogers and his team are exiting the mission area, communications lockout will be lifted in approximately five minutes.”  
  


Friday didn't hesitate to interrupt the impromptu movie night that had her creator sprawled across the large pit couch with Yasha half curled into, and half slung over, his left, and Loki comfortably resting on his right, patiently ignoring the way Tony was studying the flickers of green playing between his fingertips.  
Friday was reasonably sure that the seemingly casual display of magic was just a way for Loki to get Tony to touch him without having to risk rejection by actually asking for it, though she knew that would not happen.  
  


“We have eyes and ears?”  
“Of course, they are using one of the Avengers Quinjets.”  
“On screen please, and screw the privacy protocols.”  
“Screwing privacy protocols, aye.”  
  


Friday's quip had Yasha and Tony snickering, and a moment later Loki joined in as he caught up on the subtler meaning of her reply.  
  


After a short wait the Accords assigned handler, and pilot, announced that the lockout was lifted and Rogers and the others immediately grabbed their phones from the bags stored under their seats and turned them on.  
  


-138 missed calls-  
-22 new messages-  
  


The information was visible on the screen of Rogers' phone for a brief moment before he started scrolling throught the messages, and moments later he crushed the phone and started cursing and pacing aggressively.  
  


“Fri, do we have copies of those messages?”  
“Yes Boss, several are of rather personal nature, and not relevant to the situation...”  
“I don't care about his personal shit unless it might affect Yasha's safety.”  
 _“And Tony's.”_  
  


Tony huffed at Yasha's addition while Friday quickly compiled the relevant messages, all informing Rogers about the bounty.  
  


“Damn, he's got a potty mouth...”  
  


Tony actually found himself somewhat surprised since Rogers had a tendency to complain about crude language.  
The pacing and cursing didn't last very long though before Rogers reached out and snatched Wilson's phone and started dialling.  
  


“Boss, incoming call from Mr Wilson on the Accords priority line.”  
“Put it through, audio only.”  
“Right away Boss”  
  


Tony waited for the call indicator to change, showing that the call was connected before speaking up, carefully keeping his tone detached and emotionless but without being overly cold or rude, his usual way of speaking to Wilson.  
  


“Keep it short Wilson, I have a lot on my schedule.”  
“What the fuck have you done?!”  
  


Tony was actually somewhat taken aback by the venom in Rogers' voice, he was expecting demands for information, or that he _Fix it!_ , not aggressive accusations.  
  


“Rogers, what an unpleasant surprise.”  
  


He aimed for flippant and sarcastic, but it came across rather flat and he could feel his heartbeat picking up before Yasha's hand on his neck grounded him.  
  


“Stop screwing around! What the fuck have you done?!”  
“The hell are you talking about Rogers?”  
“What the hell do you think you're doing putting a fucking bounty on Bucky?!”  
“Whoa! Time out!”  
  


Tony's mind was reeling for a moment before settling down into something resembling order, fury was still flickering like static at the edges of his mind, but at the forefront was confusion and disbelief.  
  


“Are you fucking kidding me?”  
“Tony!”  
“What the actual fuck is your malfunction Rogers? Where the hell do you get off thinking everything you don't like is somehow my doing?”  
  


The disbelief and confusion was slowly bleeding away, leaving behind indignant fury that was barely restrained behind a thin wall of ice as Tony tried to reign himself in.  
  


“You can't just keep persecuting him for your petty revenge! You know that wasn't him! It wasn't Bucky!”  
  


A glimpse of something almost pained flickered across Yasha's face and it snapped the last shred of Tony's composure.  
  


“I know I've got more clout than most, but I don't rule the fucking world! I'm not a law enforcement agency, I can't issue an arrest order, much less an international one or a fucking international bounty! I don't control the EU, the Accords, or the **God Damned Interpol who issued that**!”  
  


Tony's hands rose involuntarily and began gesturing, and his voice rose a bit on the end, but before he could get to his feet and start pacing as well a swirling green gently wrapped around his hands and tugged them back into his lap where cool hands covered them.  
Yasha quickly brought his own hand up and cut a sharp gesture across his throat, signalling Friday to cut the call before Rogers could reply.  
  


Watching Rogers throw Wilson's phone against the fuselage of the Quinjet, shattering it, made Loki snicker and tut about temper, and neither Wilson nor Romanoff looked particularly impressed with the tantrum either, while Lang just looked startled and confused.  
Romanoff actually started looking pretty frustrated and somewhat annoyed when Barton joined Rogers' escalating rants, and the Accords pilot looked about ready to scuttle the jet.  
  


“I just don't get it, why does he seem to think I control the world? It was the same with the Accords, he seemed to think I single-handedly created them, and that I could just snap my fingers and they'd be gone...”  
 _“Well, you do have a way of being larger than life, and you have pulled off some pretty amazing stuff when dealing with the press and various governments and their agencies.”_  
”Still, he's supposed to be at least reasonably smart...”  
“Boss, if I may?”  
“Of course.”  
  


The feed from the Quinjet was moved to a smaller section of the screen and Friday brought up data on Rogers, including a timeline for his behaviour and various scholarly articles on the psychological effects of war and an reactions of long term coma patients.  
  


“I have been studying Rogers' behaviour for a while now, including archive material, both current and what material I could find from the war. And I have been consulting with several experts as well.”  
“Thorough, that's my girl.”  
“Thank you Boss.”  
 _“What's your verdict?”_  
“Even before the war Rogers showed signs of several troublesome personality traits, observable among other things in his almost compulsive need to fight what he deemed bullies, his disregard of rules when repeatedly lying on recruitment forms in his attempts to become a soldier.”  
  


Archive copies of multiple recruitment forms, all flagged as rejected, were displayed, highlighting the fraudulent information given in them.  
  


“These repeated applications also indicate a severe lack of awareness, or acceptance, of his own limitations as well as a disregard for, or inability to comprehend, the potential consequences his action can have for others.”  
  


Friday carefully picked apart Rogers' actions before the serum, as well as his actions as Captain America during the war.  
  


“I believe this ongoing lack of proper consequences may have caused the development of a belief that he is always right, something that seems to have reached delusional levels with time.”  
 _“There are concerns about that mingled in some of the memory fragments I have recovered from the later parts of the war.”_  
  


The fact that Rogers' closest friend and confidant, brother in all but blood, had been concerned about the development was telling and Friday quickly added it to her overall assessment and asked a few follow-up questions that Yasha answered as best as he could.  
  


“ _Sorry, most of this is down to emotional responses, and I'm not him, I just don't feel those memories.”_  
“I know. But don't beat yourself up over this Yasha, that information is really useful for getting an accurate picture.”  
“...”  
“I'm sorry about this but I need to ask, did you have any sense of awareness while you were in cryogenic suspension?”  
 _“Not during the actual cryogenic stage, but I was aware for most of the freezing and thawing process.”_  
“So it is possible that Rogers retained some level of awareness during his time in the ice as the coldest recorded temperature in modern time was -89.2°C recorded at Vostok station in Antarctica on July 21st 1983\. This is significantly warmer than the temperatures achieved in the cryogenic chambers that were used to preserve you.”  
 _“-196°C, but the early models had containment issues and would occasionally cycle as high as -135°C before emergency measures were engaged, flooding the chamber with liquid nitrogen.”_  
  


Yasha listed the information for Loki's benefit, it had all been in the files recovered from Mumbai, files that he and Tony were far too familiar with, and Friday had full access to all the data.  
  


“None of your recovered memories indicate awareness during those times though.”  
 _“Doesn't mean I wasn't.”_  
“True, but there is research that indicates that a temperature below -130°C keeps the mind in full stasis.”  
  


The information made Tony huff, then mumble a few curses before speaking up himself.  
  


“Between the trauma of putting the Valkyrie in the ice, and spending almost 70 years in that ice, possibly half aware, there's no telling how fucked up he was when they thawed him out.”  
“There was no proper evaluation made, at least not one that was put on any record I can access.”  
“I doubt they did anything beyond a basic check to see if he was an immediate danger.”  
  


SHIELD had been far too eager to add the legendary Captain America to their arsenal, especially in light of the multiple failures to replicate the serum.  
  


“That's what it looks like, the only evaluation on record is a basic assessment of the risk of aggressive or violent reactions, flight risk and suicide risk.”  
“So no assessments, no treatments, not even counselling for PTSD which we all had after New York...”  
“Your own records show you didn't bother with that for yourself either.”  
“I know, but I wasn't in SHIELD's care, they should have insisted, not sent him out on new missions.”  
  


Tony was well aware of his own shitty choices when health was involved, mental and otherwise, and looking back, seeing where he had ended up he wished someone had been able to knock some sense into him and make him seek professional help.  
Though, if they had chances were he wouldn’t have Yasha at his side now, or Loki, which left him conflicted.  
  


“In the aftermath he was faced with an influx of opponents that couldn't be defeated by beating them to a pulp, media, various government organisations and so on, which likely left him feeling lost, overwhelmed, and probably rather powerless.”  
“ _Enemies_ he watched me handle on a daily basis...”  
 _“I think I know where you're going with this Fri...”_  
“It seems that seeing Boss handle opponents he didn't know how to fight himself gradually caused Rogers to equate them, at least subconsciously.”  
“So the Captain came to believe that Tony must possess equal power because he was able to make them stand down?”  
  


It was the first time Loki spoke up and Friday confirmed that it was the theory that made the most sense to her.  
  


“Rogers has always been somewhat distrustful of Boss, probably based on the biased reports he was fed by SHIELD, reports we now know may have been influenced by HYDRA to keep him under _SHIELDRA_ control. However the more extreme, and aggressive, distrust he is showing now is more recent.”  
 _“How recent?”_  
  


Yasha quickly asked Friday for a detailed timeline, if they could pin down when Rogers' behaviour changed they might find a reason why.  
  


“There has been a noticeable change in behaviour in both Rogers and Barton since the Ultron incident.”  
“The _Ved'ma_...”  
"Maximoff..."  
  


Loki was instantly more attentive at the mention of the witch who had gained her power from the mind stone.  
  


“Possibly. In Barton's case it could just be a combination of PTSD and guilt over the death of Pietro Maximoff as Pietro gave his life to protect Barton and the civilian boy he was protecting. I'm not seeing any obvious triggers for Rogers' behaviour though.”  
“But the witch is dead, been dead for a good while now, shouldn't her influence have ended when she died?”  
  


Tony turned to Loki with a questioning look and was rewarded with the familiar tilt of Loki's head.  
  


“If she was actively influencing their mind then the link would have been severed with her death. But it is possible to implant power, like a corruption, or infection of sorts, creating a near permanent influence. It takes more power, but with the mind stone to aid her she would have had power to spare.”  
 _“Shit!”_  
  


Yasha cursed and Tony instantly paled and a heartbeat later he was in a full blown panic attack, the vision forced on him by Maximoff flashing before his eyes.  
Yasha quickly moved closer and after a moment of hesitation he reached out and placed his hand on Tony's knee, carefully looking for any signs that he would lash out.  
  


“ _That's it, breathe with me.”_  
  


It took a lot longer than usual for Tony to calm down, in part because Yasha was struggling on the edge of a panic attack of his own, and Loki's concerned and somewhat nervous energy didn't really help.  
Yasha did manage to keep himself from slipping further but Friday was downright distraught as she wasn't used to both of them losing it at the same time.  
  


“It's okay, I'm okay...”  
“Boss, Yasha is...”  
“I know, it's okay Fri, I got him.”  
  


Tony gently nudged Yasha's face so he could get a look at his eyes and once he did see them he took a calming breath, Yasha was close, but not over the edge so it shouldn't be too hard to get him back.  
  


“ _Soldier_ , get your breathing under control.”  
  


Yasha remained silent for a good minute, focusing on his breathing before responding in the flat tone of the Asset.  
  


“ _Complying.”_  
“Excellent, now give me a status report.”  
 _“Acknowledged.”_  
  


Yasha started rattling off information about time, location, his overall health as well as the status of his arm and an estimate of how deep into the Asset mindset he was, something they had worked on a lot lately as Yasha wanted to learn to better control it.  
  


“That's it, you've got this. You can come back now, any time you feel like it.”  
 _“The Asset has discretion?”_  
“Yes, the Asset has discretion.”  
  


It was a familiar exchange that helped Yasha ground himself, but Tony knew it could take a while before Yasha returned to his neutral state.  
  


“ _The Asset will disengage once the neurochemical imbalance has subsided.”_  
“Alright, just stay here with me until then, okay?”  
 _“Complying.”  
_

Yasha quickly settled down and allowed himself to be guided until he was sprawled across the couch with his head in Tony's lap, relaxing into the soft touch of fingers brushing through his hair and down his neck.  
  


“May I ask what happened?”  
  


Loki sounded hesitant, unsure if they would be willing to share an obvious weakness with him.  
  


“What Maximoff did to me, to us, has left a lot of scars. And now you tell us it's possible that there could be traces of her still in our heads, still messing with us.”  
“I am sorry. I did not consider that possibility until you brought it up now.”  
“We're not blaming you.”  
  


Tony's voice was soft with reassurance, then he took a deep breath and squared his shoulders before continuing, now with every bit of cold, hard, determination he could muster in his voice.  
  


“Is there any way you can find out if she left anything in there, and if so, get rid of it?”  
“Yes, but you would have to allow me, my power, into every part of your mind, permit me access to the deepest, darkest, corner of yourself.”  
“If that's what it takes.”  
“It will not be pleasant, even if you do not resist me. And if you do resist me, which is the likely outcome, it will hurt. And depending on how hard you fight me, there are risks...”  
“Whatever it takes, I can't... I need to know for sure.”  
  


Loki could relate to the desire to get something like that out of your mind, he could still feel the cold touch of the Mad Titan crawling across his own mind from time to time, not enough to influence him, just enough to remind him that as long as it remained Thanos would always be able to find him.  
Just enough to remind him of the words of the Other, of the demanded price for his rebellion, a price he had no intention of paying.  
  


“As you wish.”


	16. The Touch of a Mind

.·:*¨¨*:· The Touch of a Mind·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


With Friday's help Loki completed the scrying wards for the tower while they waited for Yasha to come back to himself, and once he did Tony brought them down to the main utility floor and a secure room hidden beneath the large arc reactor that powered the tower.  
Taking out the interface unit he had built he connected it into the main output line, it should allow it to seamlessly merge with the energy field of the main reactor, and after a thorough diagnostic run Tony slid the micro reactor into one of the sockets.  
  


“Here goes...”  
  


With a push and a twist the reactor locked into place and the interface unit lit up with the familiar blue glow, then faint tendrils of green and gold came to life as well and the charms that detected magic hummed for a moment before settling back down.  
  


“Is it working? I only felt the charm for a moment there...”  
“It is working. The charm stopped triggering because it recognizes the magic as both being mine, and being benign.”  
“Guess feeling it all the time would defeat the purpose, and be pretty annoying.”  
“So it would.”  
 _“So, anyone trying to look for me, or anyone or anything in the tower using magic will get a faulty reading now?”_  
“The ward has a scattering effect, the closest location they will be able to get is the city. We will need to use a different method for your personal ward though.”  
 _“What kind of method?”_  
“There are a few options, but ideally I would prefer to create decoys.”  
 _“Decoys?”_  
“It is possible to create imprints of a person's essence that can be bound to objects, or even other beings, like animals.”  
“So they look for Yasha and instead they end up tracking a drone, or a rat or something?”  
“Exactly.”  
“Sounds interesting.”  
“It is a complex method, it will take a while to prepare, and completing it will require either some travelling, or some more advanced manipulation of the energies of Yggdrasil.”  
  


As eager as Tony was to get proper safeguards in place for Yasha his mind just wouldn't let go of the thought that there might be traces of Maximoff's power still in his mind, it kept him walking the edge where anything from a stray thought or word, to a glint of red in his peripheral vision could trigger another attack.  
  


“If possible, I'd like to make sure the witch isn't still in my head first...”  
“Of course. I have already made a blocking charm to make sure Yasha can't be located in case we run out of time.”  
”Why not just use that then?”  
“Anyone trying to scry for him would know they were being actively blocked which could cause suspicion. The more advanced decoy method would include enchantments that would make sure it would not trigger if someone tried to scry for Blade or Ghost.”  
“Shit, I didn't even consider that...”  
  


The realization that he hadn't considered the possibility of someone trying to look into Yasha's other identities almost pushed Tony back into a panic attack  
  


“You are of Midgard, you would have little reason to consider such things.”  
“I'm supposed to be the smart one here, I'm supposed to consider all that stuff...”  
“You should not blame yourself so readily, magic is something new, something you have not had to consider before you faced me. I have centuries worth of experience maintaining multiple identities in a world where magic is commonplace, constantly blocking some and decoying others, often while needing to allow the one currently in use to be tracked.”  
“...”  
  


Tony tried to object but couldn't find any arguments that didn't sound awfully hollow, even to himself, so he settled for grumbling about hating magic before squaring his shoulders and meeting Loki's amused gaze straight on.  
  


“So, how do we do this?”  
“I will guide my magic through your mind, seeking out anything that does not seem to belong there. I have not felt the power of this witch, but I am intimately familiar with the power of the mind stone, it should allow me to recognize it.”  
“You mentioned risks...”  
“It will be unpleasant at the least, and if you try to fight me, even more so. It is delicate work, your mind will be an open book to me, but I will try not to pry.  
“But you will be seeing stuff? Stuff I might wanna keep to myself...”  
“Yes, this cannot be avoided, such is the nature of what must be done. If it is of any consolation, most of my own defences will be down as well.”  
“So I might end up seeing what's in your head too?”  
“Some of it. I know how to hide my thoughts, my memories, even with my defences mostly gone. But I do ask that you at least try not to chase anything you see.”  
  


There was a hint of something fragile in Loki's tone that gave Tony pause.  
  


“Look, you don't have to do this if you don't want to.”  
“No, this needs to be done, you need to know to be able to be at peace. I know you are every bit as uncomfortable with the idea of having someone in your mind as I am. And I will trust that you will not intentionally pry.”  
“I'll sure as hell try not to. Don't wanna abuse the trust. But I know I'm a curious bastard with shitty self discipline when it comes to resisting figuring shit out.”  
“In this we are far more alike than I care to admit. Know that I will try as well, but like you, I cannot promise that I will not look if something catches my interest.”  
“Curiosity killed the cat...”  
  


The familiar proverb had Loki raising a curious eyebrow in question.  
  


“Just an old proverb that everyone seems to love citing to me.”  
 _“But satisfaction brought it back.”  
_

Yasha adding the seldom used second part made Tony huff and shake his head with a wry smile, and the way Loki broke into a far more amused smile was a good indicator that he had grasped the meaning of the words.  
  


“I have no doubt those words of warning are well earned.”  
“Pot, meet kettle...”  
  


This time Loki laughed, clearly understanding the turn of phrase.  
  


“I may have been told similar cautionary tales by my teachers.”  
“Bet you didn't listen any more than I did.”  
“Oh, I listened quite well, and made sure not to be caught next time I studied something I was not supposed to.”  
  


Tony snickered and nodded in agreement before trying to be serious again.  
  


“Anything in particular we need to do to prepare for this?”  
“You have rested, and eaten, other than that it is advised to seek out a place that makes you feel comfortable and safe. And in your case, I believe keeping Yasha close, touching, would be good for you.”  
“Alright.”  
  


Tony turned to Yasha in silent question, and received a slight nod of agreement.  
  


“Let's head down to the dragon's lair then.”  
  


Loki found himself being pushed toward the elevator, Tony's hands warm against his back and the chaotic energy of the inventor made his magic tingle as it gathered under his skin, already rising eagerly at the promise of a chance to explore Tony.  
Magic was not alive as such, but it still possessed intent, desires, a mind of its own that reflected its wielder.  
When the doors of the elevator opened Loki paused for a moment, this was clearly where Tony and Yasha actually lived, it was darker than the penthouse, but in a warm, comfortable, way.  
Most of the penthouse was designed in what Loki had learned was what Midgard called modern and minimalist, sharp lines and contrast of black and white broken up by the occasional flash of colour in cold tones, all of it set against the gleam of sleek metal and glass.  
It was a place to entertain, meant to impress without offering too much familiarity.  
  


This floor that they jokingly called the lair however radiated the warm comforts of a home, it was a den of comforts and safety, located below the surface it was void of windows, but a wide array of light-sources kept from feeling murky.  
Instead the dark woods in warm tones made it feel alive and the large couches and lounge chairs all looked soft and inviting, it looked old by Midgardian standards but Loki had no doubt it had every modern Midgardian comfort, and technology beyond what any other Midgardian could hope to see.  
  


“Your true home. It is an honour.”  
  


As they walked deeper into the welcoming warmth Loki couldn't help pausing from time to time to look at a picture, or seemingly random trinket.  
Loki paused at a large glass orb with plants inside, looking closer he couldn't find any sign of an opening, which left him curious as to its purpose.  
  


“What is this?”  
“Oh that's just an old experiment I saw at a science fair and decided to try myself. It mimics a closed ecosystem, allowing the plants to grow and live without adding anything but light.”  
“An interesting thing to study.”  
“It's a popular one with young kids to show them how water, air and nutrients gets recycled. It's not just for fun though, I have a much larger one in one of the research labs that's being studied for ways to recycle resources in a space habitat, and the possibilities of terraforming.”  
“Terraforming?”  
“Turning a planet unsuitable for human habitation into a suitable one. The main idea is taking something that's currently barren, without life, and turning it into something lush and alive.”  
“I would very much like to hear more about this later.”  
“Fri, add it to the list.”  
“Of course Boss.”  
  


There was an ever growing list of topics on Midgard culture and science that Loki wanted to know more about and while he did study a lot of it on his own many of the more scientific topics would require more background information, or someone to explain things like terminology, for him to understand them.  
  


“Is it okay to play some music? It kinda helps me relax...”  
  


Loki's somewhat doubtful look made Yasha laugh, they agreed that Tony's taste in music wasn't always something they would have picked themselves.  
  


“Fri, would you mix up something nice from my meditation database please?”  
“Got it Boss.”  
  


Moments later the room came to life with the sound of soft rain and distant thunder, then a slow, deep, pulse of large drums was added, reminding Loki of the healers of Alfheim, how they would use sound to calm, soothe and heal.  
He was still letting himself settle to the gentle pulse of the drums when yet another sound started to blend into the soft flow, a deep thrum of some sort of instrument that Loki didn't recognize, but the sound felt like it was seeping into his bones, calming, soothing.  
  


“Perhaps the soul and spirit of Midgard is not as lost after all.”  
“So this is acceptable?”  
“Very much so. I am curious, the final sound, that deep thrum, what is it from?”  
“Those are Tibetan singing bowls, the big ones have a really relaxing sound.”  
  


It wasn't something Tony wanted the public to know about, but he had looked into nearly every method out there that promised relaxation and calm sleep, and he had found a method that did work quite well, not as well as having Yasha at his side, but well enough.  
By mixing soundtracks with nature sounds like rain, thunder and waves with slow, deep bass sounds like shamanistic drums, large singing bowls, and Bansuri, Indian bamboo flutes, he was able to create a soundscape that he found relaxing.  
  


“ _Excellent choices Fri.”_  
“Thank you Yasha.”  
  


Tony had a large library of pre-recorded soundtracks, but most of the time he let Friday pick from tracks with a single element and combine them.  
  


“If you would make yourself comfortable please, ideally in Yasha's lap so he can help calm you.”  
  


It took a bit of shuffling about before Tony and Yasha were both comfortable in a position where Loki could comfortably reach Tony's head, but once they were all settled down Loki reached out and placed cool fingers on the sides of Tony's head, thumbs pressing gently against his temples.  
  


“Ready?”  
“No?”  
  


Loki just smiled at the attempted humour and allowed his magic to rise, slowly curling down his arms and across his hands, then slowly allowed it to travel down his fingers and brush against Tony's skin.  
  


“Close your eyes, allow yourself to feel my power and try to relax.”  
  


Loki allowed his magic to thread through Tony's hair, brushing against his scalp, and once he was calm again he slowly began to push deeper, trying his best not to overwhelm the mortal, or cause him pain.  
  


“That actually feels pretty nice, like a cold pack on a nasty headache or fever.”  
  


Loki just smiled and shook his head slightly, of course Tony wouldn't be able to resist trying to analyse what was happening, but if it helped him stay calm it was all good.  
Pushing a bit deeper Loki could feel the first brush of Tony's mind, curiosity, and trepidation, but it wasn't actual fear yet, just a deep concern and worry.  
  


“Can you sense me now?”  
“Dunno, what's it supposed to feel like?”  
  


The worry in Tony's mind spiked slightly so Loki focused on soothing that before trying to move deeper.  
  


“It is not something that can be described, it must be felt, and it feels different for everyone, but when you feel it you will know. And there is no need to be concerned, it may take a while before you detect me.”  
  


Loki could feel the moment Tony sensed him, his entire mind lit up with an elated amazement and the ever present curiosity flared brightly as Tony's mind skittered across Loki's like tendrils of lightning.  
  


“Wow...”  
“It can be an interesting feeling.”  
“No kidding...”  
“Would you care to describe how my mind feels to you? It can be very different from person to person.”  
“You feel like water, but glowing, tiny rivers of light...”  
“An interesting impression.”  
  


Tony's description of the feeling made Loki hum, most would describe his mind with far more chaotic terms while Tony's choice of words, even the way he spoke those words, sounded calm.  
  


“What about me, what do I feel like?”  
“Your mind is like the tendrils of lightning that sometimes spread across a storm, reaching out, skittering about, always on the move, casting the blue of your reactor against every it can reach. Such curiosity.”  
“We call those anvil crawlers, or spider lightning.”  
“Spider lightning, I like it. It suits the feeling of your mind well. Tiny little spiders of arc energy skittering about.”  
  


It was an unfamiliar experience for Loki to actually keep up a friendly conversation while sifting through someone's mind, but it was a welcome one, in the past those whose mind he touched would be fighting him, trying to flee, or attack, their minds drenched in fear, pain, or rage.  
Touching Tony's mind wasn't without challenge though, every now and then he would come across a memory or thought that Tony wasn't comfortable with sharing, and he had quickly learned to defend himself with tiny jolts of energy.  
They didn't hurt as such, and didn't do any damage, but they were uncomfortable enough to help Loki focus and steer clear of whatever it was Tony didn't want to share, it was promising for the future though as Tony didn't actually want to hurt him.  
Loki had a feeling that Tony would be able to do a lot more than cause discomfort if the presence in his mind was a hostile attacker.  
  


“You are handling this remarkably well.”  
“That's just 'cause you have me totally distracted.”  
  


They had quickly agreed that Tony could look through Loki's memories of the other realms and Loki was quite skilled at allowing suitable memories to rise to the surface to keep Tony entertained.  
It was a good thing that Tony was so easily distracted as Loki had already found several traces of malignant red energy hidden in the corners of his mind, curled around distressing memories and nightmares.  
The energy wasn't enough to actually control him, but it was enough to elevate his stress levels, make him more prone to panicking and thus more prone to making bad decisions, and there was a lot of it, the deeper he pushed the more he found, stray thaums of magic trying to hide from him.  
Fortunately the foreign magic lacked guidance, making its grip on Tony's mind weak, and since Loki was welcome, and it was not, it was fairly easy for him to hunt it down and draw it out, forcing it into the small enchanted vial around his neck.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· The Touch of a Mind·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“It is done, I will start to pull back now. Try not to cling to my energies, it could cause the forming of bonds that you are not ready for.”  
“Okay...”  
  


There was a slight whine of objection in Tony's tone, he didn't want to let go of the memories that Loki was showing him.  
  


“We can do this again if you wish to see more, but for now we need to stop so you can rest and recover.”  
  


Loki was slightly surprised at the realization that he didn't mind the idea of allowing Tony past his mental shields again, the lively energy had felt invigorating and the lack of resistance...  
Loki didn't know how to describe the feeling of Tony's trust, however unknowingly it may have been given, apart from a few slight nudges asking him not to look at certain memories or feelings there had been no resistance at all.  
  


“That was in my mind?”  
  


Tony glared at the vial and the red energy within, shifting between swirling mist and sharp bolts as it tried to escape.  
  


“Yes, power without guidance, without proper intent, she was clearly untrained, her power wild and uncontrolled.”  
“What was that stuff doing to me?”  
“As far I could tell it was clinging to your more unpleasant memories and nightmares, bringing them forward, making it hard for you to forget or let go. Heightening your negative emotional responses.”  
“So giving me nightmares, stressing me out, and making my panic attacks worse?”  
“Yes. And thus indirectly influencing your choices.”  
“By messing with my ability for rational thinking, just like when she pushed me into creating Ultron...”  
“This was not as strong though, the influence, at least since she was killed, has been without direction, without intent, allowing you to resist it quite easily.”  
“So I don't need to worry about her having influenced any recent decisions of mine?”  
“I do not believe so.”  
  


Tony breathed a deep sigh of relief, then sucked in a somewhat sharper breath, voicing a slightly displeased hiss as the last tendril of Loki's magic left his skin, fully disconnecting their minds, then quickly followed up by scowling at Loki's smile  
  


“You're a fucking asshole...”  
  


The soft, almost fond tone belied the rather impressive scowl and harsh words, making Loki's smile turn part teasing, part knowing.  
  


“It was not as unpleasant an experience as I had believed it would be.”  
  


Tony tried his best to scoff but it ended up coming out as something more like a mix of a snort and a half strangled chuckle, but the amusement quickly died down as he felt Yasha's arms tense around him.  
  


“What's wrong Snowflake?”  
  


Yasha had grown increasingly concerned as Loki pulled angry red power from Tony's mind, if the witch's attempts at subtle manipulation left this much behind then chances are she left even more behind in his mind.  
  


“ _I should be checked too. HYDRA tried to use her power to control me... She forced her way into my mind on many occasions.”_  
  


Loki instantly settled down as well and his expression turned serious again.  
  


“I recall you mentioning that you had a strong adverse reaction to her attempts.”  
 _“I did, I fought her so hard they were concerned it would break the conditioning and make the existing triggers useless.”  
_ “Your reaction to feeling my power in a similar way could be equally bad.”  
 _“It could, I have 70 years worth of bad experiences of people trying to control me and mess with my mind.”_  
“I do not wish to put you through something that could distress as greatly as this might. If you put up too much of a fight my power might lash out, something that could harm you, or have a negative impact on your recovery.”  
 _“And if I was fully triggered, ordered not to resist?”_  
  


The question made Loki pause and consider what he knew about Yasha, and the way things worked, the triggers, the mind, his own powers.  
Between Yasha's stubborn strength, the way the fractures of his mind allowed him to protect himself against emotional responses, and his unwavering trust and loyalty toward Tony, it could work.  
  


“It is possible that I could work, but I do not know if it would be wise. There are still a lot of things that could go wrong.”  
 _“I'm willing to risk it if you're willing to try.”_  
  


Yasha and Tony waited silently while Loki considered the request, neither pushing for an answer, not wanting to rush Loki into agreeing to something he felt was too much of a risk.  
  


“I am not comfortable with doing it that way. But I do have a suggestion.”  
 _“Go on.”_  
“I agree that having Tony trigger you would help, but you should not face my power alone. If I touch his mind first so that we are connected before I touch yours I should be able to bring him with me.”  
“Should be able to?”  
“Yes, you responded to my presence with eager curiosity, not only allowing me access, but seeking out the conduit formed by my magic.”  
“Wait, I went into your head?”  
“Yes, the memories you watched were not projected into your mind, you sought them out in mine.”  
“Why didn't you stop me?”  
“I saw no reason to, your intent was curious, not malicious.”  
“So you think I'll be able to do the same again, but following into Yasha's mind instead?”  
“Yes. Your protectiveness of those you deem yours is a powerful motivator that should allow you to do this.”  
  


Tony nodded and turned his attention to Yasha and Loki settled back again, waiting as Tony made sure Yasha was okay with everything.  
  


“ _I guess we have a plan then.”_  
“Agreed, but first, a few hours of rest to recover.”  
“How about we finish those movies we had queued up? Is that rest enough?”  
“It should be.”  
“Fri, would you order up some suitable food?”  
“Of course boss. How about sushi, dumplings, mixed tempura and those chili cheese nuggets Yasha loves?”  
  


The tempura was really just a selection of seafood and vegetables though, Friday would prepare the tempura and fry it in small batches as it really needed to be eaten as soon as it was cool enough to make sure it remained nice and crispy.  
  


“Add the onion rings and the nuggets that don't burn your mouth off and it sounds good.”  
“Sure thing Boss. Anything else?”  
“I would appreciate it if you could order extra servings of those vegetables for the tempura.”  
“Of course Loki. Extra lotus root as well?”  
“Please.”  
  


Loki really doesn't pay much attention to what is happening on the large screen, instead his attention is on sorting through the thoughts and feelings stirred by his contact with Tony's mind, he needed to shore up his defences before trying to carry Tony's mind with him into Yasha's.  
Loki had always possessed strong mental shields, but his emotional ones were a different story, and in the fallout of finding out about his true birth those emotional shields had shattered, and though he had rebuilt them they were still far too fragile in some aspects.  
  


Tony was all emotion, and while Loki could handle the dark emotions like anger or the chill of fear he had quickly found his defences woefully inadequate in the face of the raging fire that was Tony's love for Yasha, leaving him raw and defenceless.  
Under normal circumstances that feeling of vulnerability would have made him lash out, but the lack of resistance from Tony's mind, that display of trust, had helped him stay anchored, had allowed him to withstand the lack of emotional defences.  
  


By the time the movie ended Loki had found his balance again and he was as ready as he could be to try to delve into Yasha's mind to search for traces of the witch.  
  


“You feel ready, or should we queue up another one?”  
“I am ready if you are.”  
 _“Let's do this then.”_  
  


While Tony and Yasha made themselves comfortable, the relaxing mix of music and nature sounds came to life again, but this time a different mixture, one that Loki suspected was catered to Yasha's preferences.  
Loki watched as Tony spoke the words that would place Yasha under his control, the Allspeak translated them for him, but he knew now that they were spoken in Russian rather than English.  
  


“ _Priority objective override activated. Protect Tony Stark.”_  
  


He watched as Tony leaned in and whispered the final trigger in Yasha's ear and he couldn't help feeling a twinge of anger at the state it left the soldier in.  
  


“ _Ready to comply.”_  
“Confirm active mission parameters.”  
  


They had explained to Loki before starting that they would go through a few initial steps to make sure everything was alright before moving on to the actual orders.  
Tony's voice was calm, but authoritative, as he spoke, detailing what he wanted Yasha to do, including specific orders for what to do if he couldn't handle things, Yasha had explained that it would help make sure he wouldn't lash out if he felt overwhelmed or threatened.  
  


“ _Complying.”_  
  


A quick glance at Tony was answered with a slight nod so Loki reached out as he had before and this time it only took a few moments before he could feel Tony's mind brush against his own, it still felt electric, but it wasn't the same skittering sensation as before.  
Instead it settles like a hum against his senses, a hum he has heard before, from the structures that Midgard used to control and transmit their electric power.  
  


It takes a bit of focus to move on to Yasha as Loki needs to maintain physical contact with Tony and guide the energy along his body to where Yasha's arms are wrapped around him, then trail along those arms, one flesh, one metal, until he can place his hands at the sides of Yasha's head.  
There is no resistance as he pushes tendrils of his magic into Yasha, just a calm stillness and the impression of darkness and cold, it wasn't an unpleasant one though, it was more like the chill of a calm night somewhere with a cold climate.  
  


“Yasha, you feel like a winter night in the Arctic tundra...”  
  


Tony's soft words triggered flashes of memories, images of true wilderness, winter landscapes with vast expanses of snow and ice, then spring, summer and fall, all equally vast and wild, but littered with lichen, moss, small, hardy flowers and low growing bushes, and the occasional stunted tree, windswept and gnarled by hardship.  
The images soon settled at the ones showing winter nights, the desolate expanse of land stretching out until it met with a sky that was showing the breathtaking beauty hidden in the branches of Yggdrasil.  
  


“The Milky Way. You can only really see it where no one lives, no light pollution.”  
  


Loki barely heard Tony's words as the images changed, coming to life with the glowing curtains of the aurora and it brought Loki a sense of longing that made his chest ache and somehow he knew, this was what Jötunheim had looked like before the Casket of Ancient Winters was taken.  
  


“Are you okay there Mischief?”  
  


There was concern in Tony's voice, and Loki could feel something stir from Yasha as well, the mind still calm and open, but there was a flicker of something akin to protectiveness along the edges.  
  


“I will be. Let us continue.”  
“Okay.”  
  


It didn't take long for Loki to navigate through Yasha's mind despite the many fractures and broken fragments, the way his emotions were restrained and controlled made his mind unusually easy to move through.  
It was still a lot of work though due to the sheer amount of the invading red hidden there, wrapped around broken memories, but it wasn't the only thing he found hidden within Yasha's mind.  
  


“I have found strands of the energy of the space stone here, old, deeply rooted.”  
“Guess that confirms how they activated and stabilized the serum without having the Vita rays.”  
“It would probably not be wise to try to remove it then.”  
“Probably not.”  
  


Leaving the blue strands alone Loki continues to pull out the invading red and by the time he has it all he is feeling rather drained.  
  


“That was the last of it.”  
“You think...”  
  


Tony hesitated and Loki could feel a shiver through the connection between their minds.  
  


“Speak your mind.”  
“Would it be okay to try to bring Yasha out of trigger mode and back up to his baseline? See if he can handle feeling this?”  
“It should be, I have done what needs to be done. If he reacts badly I can pull us out without too much risk.”  
“This, I can't explain it, but it definitely comes with a whole load of emotions. Stuff he needs to get a chance to feel and react to if he's gonna be able to properly process it.”  
“I know I can safely pull us back from here if he grows too distressed, but you are far more familiar with how he works, with his capabilities, so barring an emergency I will trust you to let me know if I need to extract us.”  
“Alright...”  
  


Loki took note of the slight hesitation, but with his magic and mind connected to Tony's he could feel the slight worry being reined in and replaced with a calm determination and deep rooted care.  
  


“ _Soldier_ , eyes on me.”  
 _“Complying.”_  
  


The change in Yasha's posture as he instantly shifted his gaze to Tony was subtle and didn't disturb Loki's hold on his head, but he could tell that the soft order made the _Soldier_ relax slightly.  
Loki kept his senses open as Tony told Yasha that the mission was completed, and gently coaxed him to come back from the triggered state and it was a very strange, but enlightening, experience.  
He watched as blue seeped into Yasha's eyes, bringing them back to life, and at the same time he could feel how those tightly controlled emotions began to unfurl and become responsive.  
  


There was a flicker of fear, cold and dark, but it was quickly overwhelmed by the bright heat of Tony's blazing love and shifted into the comforting warmth of trust and for a moment Loki found himself amazed at how deeply they were able to care, love, and trust.  
They were both so damaged, used, abused, and thrown aside by those who would claim them less than human, and yet they both refused to stay down, they found the strength to stand again, the courage to trust, and their shattered hearts still able to care and love.  
Loki found himself wondering if such strength was common among the mortals of Midgard, or if he was merely fortunate enough to have come across some of the few to possess the heart and soul of true warriors, he did hope that it was the former.  
  


Yasha's mind still had the feel of that wild winter landscape, but with his emotions unlocked it didn't feel as dark, and as his mind became active and began interacting Loki found himself slightly surprised at how light and gentle the touch felt.  
His thoughts flashed back to the images of the auroras, but these lacked the green and yellow hues that dominated the auroras of Midgard, instead they were dominated by a bright arc reactor blue.  
But there were flickers of red as well, a deep, dark red just at the edge of the visible spectrum and where it blended with the blue it formed patches of cold violet, something that Loki found odd, it would seem Midgardian vision was slightly different from his own.  
These images were not seen through his own eyes, instead it was memories of things that Tony and Yasha had seen, so any differences in how their eyes worked could cause some odd discrepancies between what their minds showed him and what his own eyes would have seen.  
  


Loki maintained the contact between their minds for about half an hour before gently nudging Tony and Yasha to let them know it was time to pull apart, and he was not surprised when they both objected slightly.  
He was however slightly surprised when Tony's energy began pulling away from his trying to stay connected with Yasha, and Yasha's energies reached out and curled around. Trying to keep Tony with him.  
  


“Easy, you need training, and experience before you try this on your own. You could unknowingly cause a lot of damage.”  
  


Both of them instantly let go and allow themselves to be guided by Loki's magic, their energies turning apologetic, but with a strong undercurrent or hope and anticipation.  
  


“Yes, I will try to teach you if we can find the time.”  
  


He mixes soothing words with promises as he gently untangles their minds, pulling Tony back with him as he withdraws from Yasha, then a few nudges to make sure Tony remains fully in his own body without trying to hold on or reach out.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· The Touch of a Mind·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Loki managed to convince the others that another snack and a nap would be a good idea before they delved into what he had found, but he could easily tell they would rather have pushed on, only listening to his suggestion due to their own lack of experience with magic.  
The way the two remained in each other's space was telling as well, they needed reassurances that they were okay, that having him poke around in their minds hadn't hurt them, soft words were mixed with the gentle touches of their silent communication, and Loki rose to leave and give them their privacy.  
He only made it half a step before two hands, one metal, and one warm, calloused, flesh grabbed hold of his shirt and when he turned around he was met with a mock glare from Tony who was patting the spot between his and Yasha's legs in invitation.  
  


“Come on Mischief.”  
  


It is far too easy to accept the offered spot, the feeling of being nudged around until everyone is settled down far too comfortable, and being sprawled in a tangle of limbs, half across Tony's and Yasha's laps, feels far too much like companionship.  
And when clever fingers start brushing through his hair Loki can't help but sigh and relax as a powerful feeling of _home_ washes over him, acceptance, belonging, and something he can't put a name to...  
For a moment he finds himself overwhelmed by memories, flickering images of himself as a boy sitting crossed legged in front of the fireplace in his mother's study, listening intently as she teaches him Vanir magic.  
  


“Hey, you okay?”  
  


A gentle nudge on his shoulder brings Loki out of the memories and he can feel his skin heat slightly with embarrassment as he takes an unsteady breath.  
  


“Just memories...”  
“Anything you care to share?”  
 _“Sometimes talking about stuff can help.”_  
“I was remembering Mother, how she taught me Vanir magic...”  
  


Once he started talking it was surprisingly easy to keep going and before he knew it Loki had told them about how much he loved his lessons in magic as a child, in part because it was something Thor never managed to learn.  
He spoke of how it had allowed him to spend time alone with Frigga, time to be himself, at least as best as he knew back then, how it allowed him time away from the golden son, time away from being a shadow.  
He spoke of the joy of learning, of his mother's pride as he quickly learned her art even if he didn't share her power of sight, and he spoke of what he now knew to be sadness and concern as he learned to shape-shift, an ability that came from his jötunn blood.  
  


And he spoke of his shame and guilt over his actions during the sacking of Asgard, how his actions in giving the Kursed information that allowed him to slip out of Asgard's dungeons unhindered by the guards, allowed him to join Malekith against Frigga.  
  


“I don't know much about your mom, but from what I **do** know I'm pretty sure she'd be about ready to smack you over the head right now and tell you to quit blaming yourself.”  
  


For a moment Loki tenses, and he almost lashes out at the idea that anyone would dare speak of the fallen Queen of Asgard without proper titles, then his mind catches up, and he realises that Tony is right, Frigga would have scolded him and told him not to dwell on the past.  
  


“Indeed she would have. Thank you.”  
“We all have shit we wished we'd done differently, but wishing won't make it so.”  
“True. And Mother.... She possessed knowledge from the Norns.. I believe she knew.”  
“And she didn't hesitate to fight anyway, did she?”  
“Never.”  
 _“Picking up a weapon and fighting even when you know you'll die, that takes true courage.”_  
  


It wasn't often Loki found himself without words, but these two Midgardians seemed to have a knack for leaving him in silent contemplation, though, he had to admit, to himself at least, most of that was because he had no desire to lie to them or trick them.  
The rest was down to the fact that they never seemed to react the way he expected them to, they had a serious knack for keeping him guessing, off balance, but it was growing on him as so far they had not managed to break his expectations in a bad way.  
Surprising, confusing, and sometimes downright baffling, but never disappointing, though they could be rather vexing at times.  
  


“What's the plan for that stuff anyway?”  
  


Again Loki finds himself somewhat thrown as Tony suddenly changes topic by indicating toward the vial that is resting within a shielded case on one of the side tables.  
  


“I mean it's just energy right? Freaky, malicious, mumbo jumbo, semi-sentient crap, but still _Can't be created or destroyed only transformed or transferred_ , energy, right?”  
  


There was a brief moment where all Loki could do was level Tony with a glare that was equal parts amusement and exasperation, which at least stopped the man from proceeding into one of his somewhat inane ramblings.  
The next moment he huffed and shook his head with a smile, he didn't have a clear picture of how far Midgardian sciences were, but Tony's short description of the cycle of energy showed that he had at least a fair understanding.  
  


“There is quite a lot of it, enough to study.”  
“A shot at learning more about the infinity stones.”  
  


It wasn't a question, Tony understood the value of studying what could one day either be the weapon of the enemy, or your own weapon.  
  


“Yes, and I also believe I would be able to create something to detect, and draw out, the power without needing more than brief proximity.”  
“So we could make sure Rogers and the others aren't under her influence, and if they are, remove it.”  
“Indeed, but I need my own workshop for that, and possibly a trip to Alfheim for a bit of consulting.”  
“Consulting?”  
“The light elves are highly skilled in the art of magic healing and I am still in good standing with several of their most skilled healers, one of which is a master at energy transfers.”  
“Alright. Let me know if there's anything I could do to help.”  
  


For a moment Loki looked like he was about to ask something, then he seemed to close off and change his mind.  
  


“Come on, don't be like that. Ask away.”  
  


Loki tries to glare again, but Tony's look of shameless expectation didn't waver and once again Loki found himself giving in.  
  


“The method used to create those diamonds, can it be used for other materials, other shapes?”  
“They can make pretty much anything you need, but larger, or more complex stuff can take a while to make.”  
“And be very expensive I assume?”  
“Depends a lot on the material, but I'm a very wealthy man, so lay it on me, what are you hoping I can have made?”  
  


With Friday's help Loki creates as accurate an image as he can of one of the crystal rods that the healers favour for all kinds of energy manipulation, a skill needed to heal magic users.  
  


“Crystals like these, regardless of material, are immensely valuable to our healers as they are needed to heal magic users. But they are very hard to make, crystals of sufficient purity and size, as well as appropriate shape, to be suitable for refining are exceedingly rare, and fetch prices fit for a king's ransom.”  
“So, providing one for this healer contact of yours would put them in debt, and secure their cooperation?”  
“Yes. And if you are able to assist, it would place me deeply in your debt.”  
“That looks easy enough to make, as for owing shit, consider it a thank you for getting the last bits of the witch out of my head.”  
“Easy?”  
  


For a moment Loki just stared blankly at Tony before shaking his head, sometimes the way Midgard did things was so completely alien compared to the others it left his mind reeling.  
None of the others would even have considered the idea to grow, or build, materials into suitable shapes, much less actually make it possible, but Midgard had, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that they had been isolated from the others...  
  


“Yeah, stuff like that is super popular with the New Age Wicca people.”  
  


He watched as Tony tilted his head and scratched at his chin before calling out for Friday.  
  


“Hey Fri baby, could you bring up pages selling stuff like that, please. Especially ones with overnight domestic shipping.”  
“Of course Boss.”  
  


As the displays come to life Loki finds himself unable to do anything but gape, then laugh at the absurdity that something that was so rare and precious among the others was common enough on Midgard to be sold as trinkets and decorations.  
  


“I think we broke him Boss.”  
“Looks like it.”  
  


Tony waved his hand a few times in front of Loki's face, and when that garnered no reaction he patted his cheek which startled the somewhat unhinged god into silence.  
  


“The cheap ones are made of glass, so don't know if that would work, but most are cut from various natural crystals and polished.”  
“The quartz variations are all very popular, as are selenite and fluorite, but other popular materials include opal, obsidian and hematite.”  
  


Loki just nodded and stared at the images being displayed, such variety took a while to grasp, and he had already spotted a few that looked very interesting.  
  


“See anything you fancy?”  
“Plenty...”  
“Bit overwhelming huh?”  
“A bit.”  
“Just grab the ones you like, then Fri can add a nice selection of the other stuff, maybe a few of those glass ones to see if they're actually useful in any way.”  
“Thank you.”  
  


Loki didn't recognise many of the names, and the Allspeak didn't help him much either, so he just picked based on looks and emotional responses.  
There was one piece that he kept returning to though, a deep green, so dark it was almost black, and he could tell the price was outrageous.  
  


“Like that one do you?”  
  


Loki huffed as Tony brought the piece he had been looking at over to a separate display.  
  


“It is far too expensive.”  
“Depends, if it's the real deal it's worth every cent.”  
“Oh?”  
“These crystals and stuff are popular, it's a big market, and some of this stuff is pretty rare.”  
“So naturally some unscrupulous individuals seek to profit from it.”  
“Yeah, it's really popular to substitute the rare stuff with common stuff that looks similar, dying similar looking minerals, or making replicas from glass or resin. This particular stuff, green obsidian, is really rare, there are a few variations, but it's usually black. And since obsidian is glass, it's popular to sell various forms of coloured glass, for instance slag glass, claiming it to be rare colours of obsidian.”  
“Greed remains the same in all realms.”  
“I can have it analysed, with that price tag it will be a dead give away if they refuse.”  
“It is still far too expensive.”  
“I think you better let me be the judge of that.”  
  


Tony's stubbornness had Loki grumbling, intentionally foregoing the Allspeak to keep Tony from knowing exactly what he said, though, it didn't keep him from grasping the gist of the words from tone and body language alone.  
A liar as proficient as Loki could of course hide most of those cues, but that felt a bit too close to deceit.  
  


“What was that Maleficent?”  
  


Tony was sporting an infuriatingly smug smile and the glint in his eye told Loki that he would probably go ahead and have it tested, and buy it if genuine, regardless of what Loki said.  
  


“Fine, it is your money to waste.”  
“Ah, that sounded so much better.”  
 _“Now you're just being an obnoxious brat.”_  
“Aw, you wound me Snowflake.”  
  


Loki shook his head at the antics, he was starting to get a fair grip on Tony's methods of deflection, the theatrics and flirting, then the jokes that unfortunately turned into self deprecation and blame far too often, but Yasha was pretty good at handling that.  
Yasha was a bit tougher to pin down, but from what they had explained that was in part because Yasha was still finding himself, finding who he was, who he wanted to be.  
They had explained about how Yasha spoke Russian mostly because it made him feel uncomfortable when his English would occasionally slip from his own way of speaking, which apparently was heavily influenced by his Russian, into Bucky's way of speaking.  
  


The Allspeak sometimes made it a bit harder to grasp regional differences and detect traces of secondary languages, it all translated the same, into the users native tongue, as they would speak it themselves, he had focused more and more on listening without using the Allspeak though and it was getting easier.  
He could do English just fine, but Yasha's Russian was still a work in progress, mostly since he was the only one speaking it that Loki was around, perhaps next time he should ask if Tony would be willing to speak Russian as well as he clearly knew the language.  
  


While considering Tony and his antics Loki's mind drifted to one small detail that had been nagging at him, and in the end he finds himself unable to resist seeking an answer.  
  


“A question for you _Anthony_...”  
  


Tony tried to resist the shiver down his spine as Loki spoke, of course that teasing bastard had noticed right away how hearing his name spoken in that soft, dark, purr had affected Tony, and now he was more than happy to use it for attention, to tease.  
Fortunately Tony had a lot of experience in keeping his reaction under wraps, though, he was pretty sure could see right through his masks if he bothered to really look, and somehow that felt grounding, made him feel safe.  
It left Tony a bit confused, whenever anyone got a glimpse behind his masks it always made him feel exposed and vulnerable, always made him intensely uncomfortable, and after the birth of Iron Man, it would damn near send him into a panic.  
With Loki however that discomfort never reared its ugly head, knowing that Loki was seeing beneath his masks still made him feel exposed and vulnerable, but somehow it also made him feel accepted, safe, feelings he wasn't accustomed to.  
A large port of Tony's reasons for the masks was the way so many had used his own feelings against him, most in order to gain money or power, either through his personal fortune, Stark Industries or by manipulating him into building things, weapons, for them.  
  


Intellectually he knew that those feelings were not a weakness, that they were part of who he was, that they were a large part of what gave him the motivation not only to build and design, but to survive things that would have killed most humans.  
That they gave him the strength to keep trying, again and again in order to protect those he cared for, gave him the will to stand up and try to do what was right, no matter how much it hurt, there had been so many times where it would have been so much easier to just fold.  
It would have been so easy to just give in, but intellectually he knew that would have been the ultimate weakness, the ultimate failure.  
  


Emotionally however was a different story, emotionally he very much lived by the words _Once bitten, twice shy_ , he tried not to, but every failure, every betrayal, every time he couldn't seem to do anything but disappoint...  
Tony shook head head to clear the thoughts, hoping that the other's hadn't noticed, but the way Yasha's arms slid around him, and the way the teasing glint in Loki's eyes faded away and was replaced with something that frighteningly close to concern, told him otherwise.  
He didn't dwell on it though, instead he pushed forward, grasping at Loki's statement, request, forcing himself into one of his media masks, donning a bright smile, open posture, and responding with playful words spoken in a slightly teasing voice.  
  


“Ah, what can I do for you princess?”  
“For someone who always complains about how much they hate anything and everything related to magic, you are suspiciously well versed in this.”  
  


There was a hint of a teasing tone in Loki's question, but Tony could actually tell it was slightly forced, as if Loki was trying to distract him from his own thoughts and I realized that he probably was.  
  


“After Afghanistan, the whole debacle with the palladium poisoning, New York...”  
  


Tony paused for a moment, trying to find his words, why the hell did everything always have to circle back to his worst nightmares, his greatest failures, the weakness he just couldn't seem to get rid of no matter how he tried...  
  


“I was desperately looking into every method of alleviating stress and anxiety that didn't involve having to talk to someone. And looking into that stuff on the internet inevitably leads you to a lot of strange places, a lot of people will desperately try anything. And for some this stuff works, I don't know if it's actual magic involved, or just placebo, but if it works it works.”  
  


Tony could feel himself starting to drift just from mentioning it, the nanites sparking to life, warning him that his heart rate was rising and his hormones shifting, but before he could begin to spiral Yasha's arms tightened around him.  
The almost painful tightness of Yasha's hold grounded him, forced his breathing to slow down to better match Yasha's and the gentle tapping of metal fingers against the reactor told his heart how it should beat, drew him closer to the slow rhythms of Yasha's enhanced body.  
Before Phoenix that would have been too slow for Tony to stay conscious for very long, but Yasha had always met him halfway, higher than his own resting rhythm, but low enough for Tony to be calm, nearly asleep.  
Now, with Phoenix, Tony could sink down to Yasha's resting rhythm, leaving both of them calm and synchronized.  
  


“I do apologize for my part in your suffering.”  
  


It took a long moment for Tony to even register that Loki had spoken again, and even longer to actually process the words and grasp their meaning, and it wasn't until Loki slowly reached out and placed a cool hand on his knee that he realized that he needed to react, respond, to those words.  
  


“You did what you had to.”  
“That I did, but I still apologize for the scars my actions left.”  
“I seriously doubt your memories of that shitfest are any better...”  
“Most are bad, many go so far beyond bad that I could not define them in mortal terms. But there are a few ones that are better than the rest, there are even ones that I would consider good...”  
“Oh? Care to share with the class?”  
  


Tony almost cringed at the edge of desperation in his voice, but Loki didn't seem bothered by it.  
  


“Having the Captain on his knees was certainly a moment worth remembering.”  
  


Loki's face lit up in a dark delight that made him look even younger than he normally did, and it also made him look quite insane.  
  


“But the one memory that stands above the others is our meeting in your penthouse.”  
  


That made Tony shiver slightly in unease, remembering the fall and those long, desperate moments where he didn't know if the suit would make it to him on time.  
  


“And no, as satisfying as it was to throw you out of that window that is not what makes that memory stand out.”  
  


Again Tony found himself torn between relief, fear and annoyance at how easily Loki seemed to read him.  
  


“Despite how vexing it was at the time, it was your gall to face me unarmed that made me truly take notice of you. I could feel your fear, it was near overwhelming, and yet you reigned it in and faced me with nothing but your mind.”  
“Didn't have much of a choice, the Mark VI was too banged up to be of use much longer, and the Mark VII wasn't ready to deploy, not to mention I needed the bracelets from the bar..”  
  


The gleeful edge of madness in Loki's expression gradually faded into something thoughtful...  
  


“I know now that you were in fact holding your sharpest weapon at my throat, but back then, all I could see was a mere mortal with the gall to treat me as an equal, offering a drink and a game of words.”  
“And that's what you consider the highpoint?”  
  


Tony wasn't entirely sure what to make of Loki's words.  
  


“Not at the time, but I do now.”  
“I still don't get why...”  
“I came to realize just how intriguing a challenge you might be. You had the courage to stand against something you knew you had little hope of winning against. Courage to knowingly place your own life on the line to play a game of wits to buy the time you and your allies needed. ”  
“A gamble I damn near lost, the Mark VII almost didn't make it in time.”  
  


There was a slight squeeze against Tony's knee before Loki pulled his hand away, returning it to his own lap and leaning back in a carefully orchestrated gesture of calm.  
  


“Know this, Anthony Stark, even then, as lost, and infuriated, as I was. You still managed to rouse my curiosity, and had the Other not been in my mind, watching, pushing, I would have accepted that offer of a drink.”  
  


Loki didn't bother mentioning how different things could have ended, there was no point in dwelling on such things, one should learn from the past, but not dwell on it, on what might have been, could have been, that was a sure path to madness.  
He still wanted Tony to know that he had truly wanted to accept the offer, would have if he had believed he could do so without risking his plans, and the insecurities he was spotting made him want to explain a bit about his reasons.  
  


“Despite your air of arrogance and constant disrespect I never felt that you were looking down on me. While unable to fully grasp my abilities or my plans you never underestimate me quite the way the others did, you knew from the start there had to be more to it.”  
“Oh, I definitely underestimated you, but in my defence, I didn't really have much to go on and you're damn good at pretending to be weaker than you are. Knew something was wrong though, it was too damn easy to bring you in.”  
  


Loki just hummed at that, he didn't agree, but he wouldn't challenge Tony on it either.  
  


“But yeah, you're right. I was pissed, and I figured you were all kinds of fucking crazy, but I never actually looked down on you.”  
  


Tony hadn't really thought about that before, but when Loki mentioned it he realized he was right, through all of it he had considered Loki an equal, though that alone had been enough to piss the would be god off at the time.  
  


“You truly are a vexing creature, so fragile, breakable, so utterly mortal. And yet you would stand tall before the gods themselves, placing yourself as their equal with absolute conviction. No doubts, no questions, infinitely unapologetic.”  
“It worked, didn't it?”  
  


Loki's laughter came out in a startled bark, but moments later it had softened into pleased amusement.  
  


“So it did.”  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· The Touch of a Mind·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Loki, a raven has arrived at the balcony.”  
  


Loki was dozing off, lulled to the brink of sleep by deft fingers braiding his hair when Friday's words brought him back to the now, the arrival of one of the messenger birds could only mean one thing, his time on Midgard was running out for now.  
  


“Please, let him in.”  
“I already have, would you like me to guide him to the elevator?”  
“If Tony agrees, please.”  
“Boss?”  
“Sure thing Fri.”  
  


It didn't take long before the elevator door opened and admitted a large bird who carefully hopped out and looked around with sharp, curious eyes.  
  


“Come to me Hugin.”  
  


Loki's magic flickered slightly and the raven vanished only to reappear on Loki's arm.  
  


“Loki, may I scan Hugin to see if there is any difference between him and Munin that I can detect?”  
  


For a moment Loki allowed himself to connect with Hugin, relaying the question in a way the raven could understand, and the response was calm agreement.  
  


“Go ahead.”  
“Thank you Loki, Hugin.”  
  


Hugin tilted his head toward the closest speaker, but quickly decided to ignore it in favour of jumping over to Tony and carefully lean in toward his chest.  
  


“Oh, you want to have a look at the reactor too?”  
  


There was no mistaking the agreement in the soft caw so Tony sighed and pulled his shirt off and moments later Hugin was happily inspecting him.  
  


“Energetic fellow.”  
“Hugin is less restrained than his brother. The only reason he waited for permission now is because Munin told him about your fear.”  
  


Tony didn't hesitate this time, with a soft _Thank you_ , he reached out and started scratching the tiny feathers on Hugin's head.  
Loki watched for a moment, not the least bit surprised at the easy acceptance considering how Tony treated his bots and AI's, but unfortunately it was time for him to return to Asgard and there were a few things he would have to do before leaving.  
  


“I must return to Asgard by morning...”  
  


The mood in the room instantly turned sombre and for a moment Loki felt an irrational fear that they would ask him to stay, knowing he wouldn't be able to say no.  
The next moment the odd feeling broke when Hugin voiced a concerned croak and bumped his head against Tony's hand.  
  


“Alright, let's get everything ready.”  
  



	17. Stepping Into the Light

.·:*¨¨*:· Stepping Into the Light·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Tony gave the hardware he was sending with Loki a quick check before running through the limited version of Friday that would be helping him, and making sure that the reactors would be safe, one last time.  
In addition to the reactor powering the mainframe and projectors there was the case with the micro reactor he had made so Loki would be able to test the inscribed covers to see if they would work as intended, the tiny reactor also powered the small laser inscription machine.  
Half his attention was focused on Yasha and Loki though as they worked on fine tuning the wards that would protect Yasha from anyone trying to scry for him for the bounty, something that had turned out to be pretty complex according to Loki.  
Apparently such magic was in part bound to the individuals sense of self, which was a bit of a mess when it came to Yasha  
  


“How does that feel?”  
 _“A bit strange, but not uncomfortable.”_  
  


Loki nodded and altered a few lines on the charm he was working on.  
  


“And now?”  
 _“Warm.”_  
“Just warm, not hot?”  
 _“Comfortably warm.”_  
“Good.”  
  


The familiar green of Loki's magic sparked to life and washed over Yasha before Loki pulled it back and gave Yasha a questioning look.  
  


“ _Safe, I felt safe.”_  
“Good, I was hoping it would, those instincts of yours are well honed.”  
  


Loki quickly selected the design used from the ones Friday was displaying on the screen.  
  


“Friday, we will be using this version, would you inscribe it please?”  
“The modified cover will be ready for installation in 6 minutes.”  
“Thank you.”  
  


When Loki turned back to Yasha he found the man looking uncomfortable and somewhat morose.  
  


“Something is troubling you?”  
 _“I don't like the way the hypervigilance, those instincts, makes me feel...”_  
  


Loki had explained that their best chance for finding the proper ward was to actually make use of Yasha's hyper vigilance, to trust in the instincts that had been tempered and honed by a lifetime of hardship and battle.  
  


“Instincts can be a potent tool if used wisely, trust them, but do not allow them to blind you, or rule you.”  
 _“It's hard to trust that part of me, the part_ _ **they**_ _created...”_  
“They may have added to the crucible and reforged the blade, but they did not create the iron.”  
 _“I don't understand...”_  
  


Loki just smiled and moved closer, close enough to be able to reach out and touch if he wanted to, but without actually touching.  
  


“You are like a Midgardian blade. You were born as iron ore, the training to become a soldier was your crucible, smelting your ore and shaping you into an ingot. Being a soldier formed you into a rough blade, but still lacking, the metal rough and impure. Your first captivity was your second crucible, they melted you back down, burned away the impurities then added their own mixture to the melt, hoping to recreate the alloy their enemy had created.”  
 _“The serum...”_  
  


Tony forced himself to look away, to focus on his own work rather than listen to the soft conversation in the corner of the workshop, as familiar as he was with Yasha's history, with Bucky's life story, it still felt as if he was intruding on something private, something personal.  
  


“There are however many factors that must be right to create a specific alloy, the temperature of the melt, the balance between the components, the rate of cooling, any mistake can make the alloy different, or useless. They didn't have the details, didn't understand how the source of the melt affected the result.”  
 _“Genetics..?”_  
“It is more than just what Midgard calls genetics, there is definitely a component of magic to it. Something that draws from a well far deeper than just flesh and blood.”  
 _“Of course...”_  
  


Yasha huffed and for the moment he agreed somewhat with Tony's stance on magic, it complicated everything, he knew, just as he knew Tony did, that it wasn't really the magic that was the problem though.  
It was their own lack of knowledge and understanding of what magic was that was the true issue, but it was hard to accept that the world was so vastly different from what they had always known, that there was so much more to it.  
He didn't really understand where Loki was going with his analogue, yet at least, and that left him somewhat frustrated, but there was something compelling about the way Loki spoke, something that made him want to listen.  
  


“You were rescued before they could attempt to forge their alloy, nothing but a rough hewn ingot. Then at the Captain's side you were slowly hammered into a blade again, tougher this time, steel rather than iron. Shaped and sharpened by battle you gained the edge of a killer.”  
  


Loki paused for a moment, carefully studying Yasha's posture, expression, and as he had learned, the colour of his eyes, confirming that they were a pale blue as they should.  
  


“They may have succeeded in creating steel similar to that of their enemy, and that steel had become a blade, but untempered steel is hard and brittle, the force of their attempts to shape it caused it to shatter.”  
  


Loki noted the hint of a shiver that ran through Yasha's body at the mention of the shattering, the beginning of what would become the Winter Soldier, the Asset, the Fist of HYDRA, and hidden within all that, kept suppressed by trauma and control, Yasha.  
  


“The steel, no matter how shattered, was still far too valuable to just cast aside so they took the pieces and placed them into a forge of suffering until all that remained was an ingot, no identity of its own, merely metal waiting to become. And they took that, reforged it, folding and hammering it out, over and over until something new was born, something they shaped into what they wanted, a weapon quenched in blood.”  
 _“They created me by taking away who I was, tempered me with blood, then sharpened me with control and kept my edge honed with pain...”_  
“Cruel, but effective. In the end however, no matter how much they added to it and reshaped it, one thing remains, the one thing they were unable to create, the one thing they had to steal.”  
  


Loki gave Yasha a pointed look, silently asking him to complete the moral of the story.  
  


“ _The iron is still there...”_  
“The iron, your instincts, your heart and soul. The one thing that was always your own no matter what they did.”  
  


Yasha silently considered Loki's words, Tony had once said something similar but at the time Yasha had not been ready to hear them, or maybe he just needed to hear them from someone other than Tony, this time he was ready.  
He took the words and turned them over, picked them apart, compared them to what Tony had said, put them side by side and picked them apart again, this time seeing them for what they were, the truth.  
He could hear it now, understand it, and accept that it was true, but he wasn't quite ready to take it to heart just yet.  
  


“I know this is not an easy truth to handle, even once you have accepted that it is indeed a truth.”  
 _“The conscious mind accepting it doesn't mean it's fully accepted yet...”_  
“Awareness is a good place to start.”  
 _“So I've heard.”_  
  


Yasha huffed and grumbled, he had heard that one quite a few times over the countless BARF sessions to recover and integrate his fractured memories.  
  


“You have had good help.”  
“...”  
  


Loki didn't push, instead he headed over to see what it was that Tony was doing that had Hugin so captivated, normally the raven would be eagerly watching while Loki worked his magic, often to the point of getting in the way.  
What he found had him somewhat surprised and smiling fondly, though, taking the time to consider Tony's personality, and Hugin's, he had to admit he should have known how things would end up.  
  


Tony was working on what had to be Yasha's previous arm, carefully taking it apart and sorting the pieces out on a large table next to the small workstation, and he had somehow managed to contain Hugin's tendency to be a nuisance.  
Loki watched as Tony removed a round, flat, piece of metal and held it out toward the mobile armour stand that was serving as Hugin's perch, and the raven grabbed it with his beak, then tilted his head, quite obviously waiting for Tony to tell him what to do with it.  
  


“Would you put that in H3 please?”  
  


Hugin answered with a soft sound that sounded suspiciously like the chirp that Tony's bots used to relay understanding and compliance, then took off from his perch and landed carefully at the far end of the table, mindful not to disturb the items on it.  
Loki watched as Hugin carefully walked across the table then placed the part down next to a handful of other parts before walking back to the edge and returning to his perch.  
Taking a closer look at the table revealed a grid being projected across most of the surface, and at the edge there were letters and numbers which allowed easy identification and reference to each cell, something Loki had a feeling Tony had added for Hugin's benefit.  
The next part, some kind of long metal rod, was handed to DUM-E with instructions for where to place it and the bot chirped happily as it turned to do as asked.  
  


“I must congratulate you, Hugin is usually far more of a nuisance while one is doing delicate work.”  
  


Tony startled slightly when Loki spoke up, then turned with a bright smile.  
  


“Oh, he was. But you had your hands full so I decided to try the method I use for keeping DUM-E from bothering me too much while working.”  
“By having him help you?”  
“The bots are like kids, sometimes giving them something to do to make them feel useful keeps them from causing too much trouble. And he's a clever one, only took him a few tries to figure out the grid.”  
“I must admit, that is not a solution I had considered.”  
  


Loki held his hand out for Hugin and the raven quickly hopped over and he could feel the magic of its mind reaching for him, accepting it he felt the familiar rush of memories being delivered, the accompanying emotions however were not something he was used to.  
The emotions of the ravens were usually just a faint echo, but now Hugin was simmering with eager curiosity and something decidedly pleased, almost happy, emotions that Loki realised echoed his own whenever he got his hands on a good puzzle.  
  


“He finds you interesting, a puzzle to solve.”  
“And if that doesn't sound vaguely intimidating...”  
  


Tony's grumbling made Loki laugh and assure him that neither of the ravens would hurt him.  
  


“It may prove to be useful, they like you, so they may allow themselves to be convinced to carry messages for us.”  
“Raven penpals?”  
  


Loki wasn't entirely sure the Allspeak had translated that right, but the image it brought to mind made him snicker.  
  


“A means to communicate when I cannot be here, a means that does not involve the Gatekeeper.”  
“Guess that could be useful.”  
“Their sight is not as impressive as that of the Gatekeeper, but they are connected to Yggdrasil in ways he could never hope to achieve, hold the Great Compass and think of them, and they will hear.”  
“Definitely useful.”  
  


Before Loki could say anything else Tony's eyes sharpened and his posture stiffened.  
  


“Loki, what aren't you telling us?”  
“Precisely what you already suspect.”  
  


Loki's reply was paired with a deep sigh that instantly made him the centre of attention.  
  


“ _You don't think you'll be able to return anytime soon...”_  
“Unfortunately.”  
  


For a brief moment something sharp and cold flickered across Tony's eyes but it was gone before Loki had a chance to properly examine it, but he had a feeling he knew what he would have found, the fear of betrayal, of abandonment.  
It was something Loki could not allow to take root, he needed to reassure Tony, and perhaps Yasha as well, that he would not be kept willingly, that he would rather stay on Midgard and never set foot on Asgard again, but unfortunately Asgard was needed if they were to stop Thanos.  
  


“I would like nothing more than to stay, but if we are to stand a chance against the Titan the Nine must stand together.”  
“And only Asgard can broker **that** alliance.”  
“Again, a most unfortunate circumstance.”  
  


On a whim Loki reached out to Tony and wiped away the smudge of oil that had made its way to his brow, no doubt by way of the man's habit of wiping his brow while working, headless of the grime on his hands.  
  


Tony's willingness to get his hands dirty to get the job done, both literally and figuratively, was one of the traits that Loki found admirable, it was a rare trait among those considered nobility, or more, something that definitely applied to Tony.  
Born and raised into wealth and power it would have been easy for him to become yet another one of those who would profit on the work of others, who would pay to see blood on the hands of shadows rather than risk sullying their own.  
  


The other realms would consider Tony a Prince of Midgard by merit of influence, even though Midgard had no royalty recognized by the others, those of Midgard who claimed the title of royalty were seen as little more than regional lords by the other realms.  
Among the Nine Midgard was somewhat of an anomaly with its divided lands, nearly 200 territories all claiming sovereignty over their own piece of the ream.  
  


While mostly tribal in nature, the other realms, with the exception of the Niflheim, where Hela held sovereignty over the lands of Helheim and the dead within, were still the sovereign territory of a single monarch.  
Or at least had been, there were not enough Dark Elves left to truly be able to lay claim to Svartalfheim, but none of the others had any interest in trying to claim what they believed to be a dead realm.  
Jötunheim was struggling to recover without the casket, and without Laufey to control them the tribes had scattered, but Helblindi and Býleistr, blood brothers that Loki had not known he had, kept sovereignty of the realm.  
As far as Loki could tell the two princes ruled side by side, neither claiming the title of King, and from what information he had been able to gather neither would unless they managed to unite the tribes, at which point one of them would be chosen as King.  
From what he understood of the ways of Jötunheim the other brother would become the King's closest adviser, and command Jötunheim's soldiers, as well as hold the title of Crown Prince until the king sired an heir of his own.  
  


Loki had taken Tony's words about the victor writing history to heart and sought out sources that predated the great war in an effort to find less biased knowledge about Jötunheim and its people, but they were few and far apart.  
What he had found so far though had him torn, it was no easy task to accept that a lot of what he had been taught was lies, falsehoods intended to demonize the jötnar, to justify the destruction of a species, his species.  
  


Now, however, was not the time to dwell on such matters, his time on Midgard had run out and he needed to reassure his allies that his dedication to their alliance had not, and would not, falter.  
  


“Always such a mess, _Anthony_.”  
  


Loki kept his tone light and teasing as he slowly allowed his magic to rise, giving Tony ample time to pull back before the green tendrils touched him and vanished the grease and grime from his face and hair, but try as he might he found himself unable to fully hide the warmth of his developing fondness.  
Loki took careful note of Tony's reactions to the touch, and his magic, a slight hitch in his breath, a few rapid heartbeats, eyes wide and dark as the pupils dilated, then the blue ring appeared for a moment and Tony's physical reactions to the touch were halted.  
  


“I better get to work then, make sure this baby won't break down on you. Fri, start compiling and downloading the data please, don't wanna miss anything.”  
  


Tony turned away just a hair too fast, his tone just a bit too bright, revealing to those who knew what to look for that he was in fact fleeing.  
  


“Already running, estimated time to completion, 1 hour and 23 minutes. Also, the new cover for the reactor in Yasha's arm is ready for installation.”  
“Alright, let's get that done first.”  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Stepping Into the Light·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


They worked through the night to make sure everything was as ready as could be, Loki weaving wards and creating a significant pile of the charms that would allow them to create decoys for Yasha, keyed to activate when exposed to a specific pattern of Arc energy pulses.  
A handful of drones had already been sent out, controlled by Friday and powered by modified arc tech and magic they could stay in the air permanently, and each carried an activated charm, spreading into the winds they would create false readings.  
  


Tony spent the time pouring over the mainframe, making sure it would hold up without needing maintenance anytime soon, and he made sure to fill the drives up with as much data as time allowed for.  
Starting with books on Earth history, politics, religion and culture, volume after volume on science and technology, dictionaries and textbooks for all the major languages, as well as textbooks and transcribed lectures for every conceivable subject up to a bachelor degree.  
After that Friday had been instructed to add whatever literature she believed could help Loki better understand how Earth and its people worked.  
  


Yasha did what he could to help, but it really wasn't his area of expertise so he ended up mostly keeping Hugin from getting in the way, and fetching whatever Tony and Loki might need for their work, including snacks and drinks.  
He may have a lot more brains than most would give him credit for, but at the end of the day he was still just a soldier and this was simply not his thing, and he really didn't mind being relegated to being a gopher and raven sitter while they worked, quite the contrary, it felt good to be useful in ways other than his talent for killing.  
  


The night turned to morning far faster than Loki would have preferred and before he knew it he was standing in the middle of the main area of the penthouse with two large suitcases, saying his farewells as the city below came to life.  
  


“ _You take care.”_  
  


Yasha's hands felt solid on his shoulders and Loki could tell he was using a lot more force than he normally would, marking the gesture as something from one warrior to another.  
  


“You too, and try to keep him out of trouble.”  
  


Yasha's amused snort made it perfectly clear what the soldier thought about the viability of that mission.  
  


“ _He's every bit as prone to trouble as you are to chaos, but I'll do my best to keep him alive.”_  
  


The teasing reply made Loki grin and take hold of Yasha's shoulders in return, then lean in and place his forehead against his, acknowledging him not just as a warrior, but as a shield-brother.  
When he pulls back he is met by a glowing blue gaze and the grip on his shoulders tightens slightly before Yasha gives a sharp nod and steps back.  
  


Loki turned to Tony and closed the distance without hesitation, grabbing the shorter man by the shoulders as well and he could tell from the slight widening of his eyes that Thor must have told him about how Æsir warriors greeted, and said farewell, to their shield-brothers.  
  


“I will not bother to ask you to stay safe, instead I ask that you keep the hunters at bay.”  
“I'll burn anyone who tries to harm what is mine.”  
“Heart of a dragon.”  
  


Tony just huffed at the quip and raised his hands to grab Loki's shoulders.  
  


“You make sure to remember who you are, God of Mischief and Chaos.”  
“I will.”  
  


Leaning in he pressed his forehead against Tony's for a moment before stepping back and reaching out toward Hugin, beckoning the raven to his shoulder.  
  


“You're welcome to visit any time feather-brain, that goes for your brother as well.”  
  


The answering caw sounded decidedly miffed, but the way Hugin puffed his feathers and lowered his head to be scratched told a different story.  
  


“You're just a big softie, aren't you?”  
  


Loki watches in amusement as Tony reaches up and gives Hugin a good scratch, but the feeling fades to slight concern when he notices the way Tony tenses as he steps back.  
  


“Pleasedon'tkillormaimmeifI'vereadthiswrong.”  
  


The burst of words come out just a bit too fast for Loki to make sense of them right away, but before the Allspeak can catch up to assist the man before him takes a quick step closer and a moment later lips brush against his own.  
His body reacts while his mind is still playing catch-up, wrapping an arm around Tony's shoulders and pulling him closer, returning the kiss, but keeping it chaste and as he steps back he offers a soothing whisper.  
  


“You're not wrong.”  
  


Between one moment and the next Loki, Hugin, and the two cases have vanished, leaving a stunned, and very confused, Tony in the middle of his penthouse, standing silent, brushing his fingers against his lips.  
  


“So... That happened...”  
 _“Not to be the one to say I told you so, but, yeah, I told you so.”_  
“Hard to miss you know... You've been telling me nothing but all night.”  
  


Yasha had been unusually insistent on telling Tony that he should do something about his obvious attraction to Loki, that he needed to act before Loki returned to Asgard, that he would be regretting it if he didn't.  
There had been a near constant stream of teasing encouragement coming from Yasha's tablet, words sent to the nanites to make sure Loki didn't overhear.  
  


” _Only way to get you to listen, Antoshka.”_  
“Not you too!”  
  


Tony instantly latched on to Yasha's choice of words, _Antoshka_ , something Yasha had never called him before, it could be interpreted in more than one way though, one being simply a diminutive form of Anton, derived from Anthony just like Tony.  
Tony knew that wasn't the case though, in part because Tosha or Toshka would be the logical choice since those were closer to Tony, but what truly gave it away for what it was, Yasha calling him Anthony, was the obvious teasing tone.  
  


“Aww, poor котенок.”  
“Now you're just being mean.”  
“Come to me котенок.”  
“Nuh uh, not falling for that one.”  
  


Tony was grinning widely but his mind was still occupied with Yasha's choice of words, and language, it was something Tony had noticed after Yasha had stopped speaking English, a quirk of sorts, whenever Yasha called him котенок, kitten, he would speak the rest of the sentence in English.  
He had a feeling part of the reason was that Yasha knew just how much Tony loved the way he sounded when he spoke English with that thick Russian accent, the things Yasha's voice and accent did to the English language was downright wicked, in the most lewd of ways, at least to Tony.  
  


Yasha always came across sounding somewhat gruff regardless of what language he spoke, but when he spoke that rather heavily accented English his voice seemed to drop even lower, sending shivers down Tony's spine, and straight to his groin.  
Tony knew that Yasha could speak without an accent if he wanted to, and when he did there was no drop in his tone, something Tony had noted also happened when that distinct _Brooklyn_ from the fragments of Bucky broke through.  
Yasha didn't like speaking English though, especially not without the Russian accent, he had once told Tony that the Russian accent helped keep the Brooklyn away, and that the Brooklyn terrified him, left him afraid that he was losing himself in the fragments again.  
  


Tony had never been happier for his paranoia pushing him to learn Russian, and a slew of other languages, most of which Yasha spoke as well, the soldier clearly had a strong natural linguistic ability, something that had been taken full advantage of during his time as the Asset.  
It made perfect sense though, being fluent in the language of the target location, including dialects, made blending in much easier, and the ability to accurately mix in accents was a damn good way to obfuscate your origins  
  


He recalled when they had been returning from one of their HYDRA raids in Turkey and had stopped by a small family restaurant to get some food and Yasha had chatted with the owner in Kurdish with a British accent.  
During the raid however when questioning one of the operatives who also spoke Kurdish, Yasha had spoken it with a distinct German accent.  
  


The sudden touch of metal fingers against his cheek made Tony startle, he had been so deep in his thought he hadn't noticed Yasha moving closer.  
  


“ _There you are. Everything okay?”_  
“Yeah, sorry, just got lost there for a bit.”  
 _“So I noticed.”_  
“Ass...”  
 _“Don't worry, that wasn't rejection.”_  
  


For a moment Tony was confused, then he realised that Yasha must be thinking that his trip down the rabbit hole of his mind was related to the way Loki just upped and vanished.  
  


“But he didn't stay...”  
 _“You know just as well as I do that he couldn't, so did he. The mission is too important.”_  
“...”  
 _“That's why you didn't do anything until the very last moment.”_  
“Get out of my head.”  
 _“Don't want to.”_  
  


Tony huffed at the somewhat petulant reply, then forgot all about it as Yasha leaned in and trailed kisses along his jaw and down his neck.  
  


“ _I'm willing to share you with Loki 'cause I think he'll be good for you, but you're still_ _ **mine**_ _.”_  
  


The words started soft, but ended in a possessive grow that made Tony gasp as his skin exploded into goosebumps and left his entire body tingling.  
Tony and Yasha were both viciously possessive, something that Tony had been concerned about at first as he was perfectly aware of his own polyamory, but Yasha had taken it surprisingly well when he had explained it.  
He had made it perfectly clear though that he would not share with just anyone, that it would have to be someone that could both trust, someone worthy and Tony had agreed without hesitation that he would never act on any such feelings unless Yasha agreed.  
Loki was still a bit of a gamble, but Yasha had been adamant that Tony should do something to show his interest, even if it was still just that, an interest to see if maybe there was the possibility for more than just an alliance or friendship.  
  


“Always yours.”  
  


Tony's answer was somewhat breathless as he tried to chase Yasha's lips to claim them, but instead of giving him what he wanted Yasha grabbed his chin and shook his head.  
  


“ _Not this time.”_  
  


A moment later Tony was being pushed back, and once Yasha had him pinned against the wall he used his hands and mouth to take him apart.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Stepping Into the Light·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


The moment Loki arrives in the well hidden and heavily warded study where he did most of his spellcrafting he curses rather colourfully, startling both Hugin on his shoulder, and Munin napping atop one of the bookshelves.  
  


He felt like a coward, and a bastard, for leaving, or rather fleeing, after having been given such a tempting insight into his little ally, hopes and fears being laid bare to him, a potential weakness laid bare before him with such courage.  
However he knew he had to leave while he still could, and he also knew that Tony would be doubting himself despite the reassurance he had offered with his parting words, he would need to find a way to offer further reassurances, and an explanation.  
He considered what would be the most suitable way to accomplish the task while setting up the equipment that Tony had given him, unfortunately he wouldn't be able to start working on it right away, there were quite a few meetings he would have to attend.  
  


The meetings were every bit as aggravating as usual, the constant bickering made Loki want to kill something, ideally one of the loud-mouthed idiots, but it did give him ample time to think about what to do about a suitable apology for the way he had left Midgard.  
  


“That is quite enough, we shall continue on the morrow.”  
  


Fortunately no one dared challenge the word of _Odin_ , and before long Loki found himself back in his study, picking through his materials to find what he needed in order to craft the gift he had decided on, a set of dream cuffs.  
When worn while sleeping they would allow the wearers to share dreams, careful selection of the materials could further enhance them to allow for more lucid dreams, something that would be useful for Tony and Yasha.  
Loki himself had always been a lucid dreamer and was a skilled dreamwalker, a skill his mother had always encouraged him to develop and master, sharing her own dreams with him while he was away from the palace.  
  


He had always believed it was just a ploy to make him agree to dreaming with her while he was away, to reassure her that he, and Thor, were unharmed, but now he found himself doubting that belief, a growing suspicion that she seen something in the tapestry of the Norns.  
The Queen had been the strongest vǫlva the Nine had ever seen, the Norns had gifted her with sight and knowledge unlike any other, something that Loki now understood to be as much as a curse as it was a gift, giving her knowledge of possible futures that no one should have to bear.  
  


Remembering his mother's gift brought an unbidden stream of memories to the surface, soft smiles he could now see hiding pain and tears as she wove her seiðr into tapestries of divination, the Norns whispering Prophecy as she worked the loom.  
He allowed the memories to wash over him, collecting them like precious gems, tucking them away in the safest corners of his mind, wearing his own magic to protect them before focusing back on the task at hand.  
  


He carefully selected some black hazel from Niflheim to form the core of the spellwork, the power of the realm of mist had a unique ability to draw out dreams, and the black hazel trees of the realm absorbed that power better than any other.  
The next item was a soft hide from a white serpent he had killed on Svartalfheim, it would make for a soft lining and a way to secure the cuffs to make sure they wouldn't slip while sleeping.  
Finding suitable gems to represent each of them was a far harder task, one he ended up spending the rest of the day, and most of the night on, but it was a task of utmost important, the more fitting they were to the person they were selected to represent the stronger the magic of the cuffs would be  
In the end he selected three opals, a bold dragon's breath opal that shifted between reds and blues from Muspelheim for Tony, an unusually clear blue ice opal from Jötunheim for Yasha, and a black opal with a vivid green iridescence from Vanaheim for himself.  
  


Realising that he already had materials from five of the Nine brought another memory of Frigga to Loki's mind and for a moment he could have sworn he felt her presence in the study, something that solidified his decision to add something from the other realms as well.  
It held a meaning he wouldn't reveal to his allies, not yet at least, though it may turn out to be a most fitting one, a gift crafted with materials from each of the Nine was a traditional courting gift, one with a strong symbolism tied to it...  
In the end he could always claim to have intended it to be a symbol for his dedication to the alliance rather than an actual courtship.  
  


A gift of Nine was symbolic for the suitor's willingness to face the Nine for the one they desired, and the materials chosen carried a symbolism of their own.  
Precious metals or stones would represent the suitor's wealth and ability to support a family.  
Rare materials that were hard to find or obtain, such as treasure pilfered from dragons, or dwarves, would be proof of their wits and ability to solve problems.  
Materials harvested from the bodies of greats beasts to show their courage and prowess as warriors.  
  


He considered what to add while working on the rune circles that would allow him to make copies of the selected gemstones, he would need six each of the opals to create the design he wanted, something that would take a few days, and would drain his magic reserves.  
Alfheim was easy as he selected clasps made from elven silver, and after a moment he added Midgardian gold to fill the runes that would be carved into the wood.  
Asgard took a while longer, but in the end he decided to use a sliver from the destroyed Bifrost, it would make a suitable centrepiece.  
Nidavellir proved a challenge as well as Loki sorted through all the dwarven gems and metals he had without any of them feeling right, then his eyes fell on a small spool of metal thread, Uru, though not native to the Nine it could only be refined at the star-powered forge.  
It was an excellent medium for storing and channelling magic, and it was nigh indestructible once the enchantments had been properly set, it would make an excellent material for the settings and making sure the cuffs would not break.  
  


Placing the materials on his desk he started the process of designing his gift, using the holographic display instead of his own magic, and asking Friday for her input, even though the copy housed in the small mainframe wasn't a complete one she still had insight to offer.  
  


“Could you explain the meaning of those runes please? My database here is limited.”  
  


Friday sounded almost embarrassed by her inability to look into the meaning of the runes on her own, but Loki was more than happy to explain while he worked, using it as an opportunity to practice his English.  
He could always take control of the Allspeak to make her hear English, but he wanted to gain true mastery of the language, so he practised.  
  


“Of course, this is Svefnthorn to promote restful sleep, and this one is Draumstafir to channel desires through dreams.”  
  


It felt good to have someone to talk to who didn't judge, something he knew he would miss from working in Tony's workshop, and Friday was also a great help with writing the letters that would be sent along with the cuffs, both with explaining his actions to Tony and Yasha, and a manual for the cuffs.  
She helped make sure his English was on point, and she offered him several samples of handwriting in styles suited for a quill pen.  
  


Just over a week after his return to Asgard Loki wrapped two of the cuffs into a small package and secured three scrolls to it as well, one for Tony, one for Yasha, and one containing the instructions for how to use the cuffs.  
  


“Hugin, Munin, would you take these to Midgard, to Tony.”  
  


The ravens were more than happy to oblige and Loki breathed a sigh of relief as he ran his finger along the runes of the third cuff.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Stepping Into the Light·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Boss, we have activity on the bounty situation.”  
  


The bounty had been up for a week when Friday's monitoring paid out.  
  


“What do you have for us baby?”  
 _“Is it Rogers?”_  
“Of course it is Yasha. He's managed to talk his accords representative into arranging a meeting with the Accords Council, Interpol and a group of EU legal representatives. And you Boss.”  
“Of fucking course.”  
“He still believes you to be involved in the bounty.”  
 _“What about the others? What do they believe?”_  
“Barton is eager to paint Boss as the devil, and Lang still hangs on Rogers' every word like a lovesick puppy. Wilson remains a bit more level headed, but he still takes Rogers' words for truth...”  
  


Yasha doesn't miss that Friday doesn't mention what the Black Widow believes.  
  


“ _And Natalia? Is she so entangled in her own webs that she can no longer see?”_  
  


Yasha had recovered most of his Red Room memories which left him somewhat ambivalent about Romanoff, he knew she acted as she had been trained to, but he also knew that she should be a lot better at reading a situation.  
She was making choices that would have gotten her killed in the Red Room, she had become weak, and that bothered him, he wasn't entirely sure why, but he remembered admiring her courage and resilience as he trained her and the other girls.  
Perhaps Tony had a point when he suggested that he had come to see her as a daughter of sorts, and that what he was feeling now was essentially disappointment in her for having forgotten what she had been taught.  
And mixed in with all that was a twisted sense of guilt for having failed to eliminate all trace of weakness from her.  
  


“Based on her enquiries and the contacts she has been trying to get information from she believes HYDRA to be behind this. A last ditch attempt to reacquire the Winter Soldier.”  
“But she hasn't mentioned that to Rogers, has she?”  
“No Boss, she hasn't.”  
 _“She'll save that for when someone manages to knock it into his head that it's not Tony's doing.”_  
“That would be a safe assumption based on her record.”  
  


Tony bit down on the lingering pain of betrayal, despite the fact that he had never really trusted her, Romanoff's betrayal was still the one that cut the deepest because he knew that she understood why they needed to get out front with the whole Accords mess.  
She knew that their best bet for controlling the outcome was to actively participate from the beginning, to at least appear to agree in order to put themselves into a position from where they could make changes.  
Shaking his head with a sigh Tony tried to focus back on the information Friday had just provided.  
  


“Do we have a date and time for this meeting?”  
“Not yet, the representative promised to call back by the end of the day for a scheduling update.”  
“Wonder if they will bother calling us to clear that...”  
“Probably not Boss...”  
“What do you guys say we refuse to go if they don't?”  
“Sounds like a plan to me Boss.”  
 _“About fucking time...”  
_

As far as Yasha was concerned Tony was being far too tolerant with the various Accords assholes, letting them dictate when and how to meet, especially the fact that they never even attempted to coordinate these meetings with Tony's schedule.  
  


“Don't worry Murder kitten, I won't be letting 'em get away with quite as much shit any more. Needed to solidify my position as being pro-Accords, let them think I'm all compliant.”  
 _“Anyone who'd buy you being compliant is an idiot.”_  
“Hey! I can pretend!”  
 _“Maybe, but have they checked your history?”_  
“Okay, I'll give you that one...”  
  


Friday watched the mock bickering continue for a few minutes before the pair settled back down.  
  


“Fri baby, have you heard any more from Raider and his team?”  
“Their last contact was 42 hours ago when they reported that the enhanced group that their contact was working with have decided that Yasha is one of them and they will not pursue the bounty.”  
  


They didn't actually know about Yasha though, their opinion was based on the stories about Bucky Barnes and the Winter Soldier that had been all over the media, Tony had been relieved when Friday started reporting an increasing number of enhanced and mercenaries stating that they would not pursue the bounty.  
  


“There has been some rather interesting chatter on the message boards though.”  
“Oh, talk to me baby.”  
“An in increasing number of people are starting to question what steps the authorities have taken in order to get in contact with _Bucky_ for answers without exposing his position to HYDRA prior to posting the bounty.”  
“And how much of that is your doing?”  
“I may have posted the question in a few of them and helped make sure it got exposure...”  
 _“Sneaky girl, I knew there was a reason I liked you.”_  
“Thank you Yasha.”  
“Sneaky indeed sweetie, you are getting good at this.”  
“Thank you Boss, I'm learning from the best.”  
“Aw, thank you baby.”  
“I was talking about Loki.”  
“Rude.”  
  


The teasing exchange had Tony grinning like a madman, proud as a peacock, and Yasha offered Friday a pleased grin and a wink at the closest camera as well, but he was distracted, there was something in Tony's reaction that was off.  
It only took a few moments to figure it out, Tony had been planning something along the lines of what Friday had done all along.  
  


“ _This is why you have been taking apart my old arm, isn't it?”_  
“Yeah, I needed to get a proper feel for it to make a cover for your new arm that will replicate the look and motions of the old one. Sometimes looking at a blueprint, even a full detail holographic one, just doesn't cut it.”  
 _“Sometimes you need to feel, not just see.”_  
“Yeah.”  
  


Yasha was familiar with what Tony was talking about, though in a much different way, seeing pictures of a target, a location, even if it included detailed video and floor-plans just wasn't the same as walking it yourself.  
Same with weapons, it didn't matter how much you knew about the specifications of a weapon, or how many pictures you had seen of it, or even if you had used a different one of the same model before, to truly know it you needed to hold it, feel it.  
  


“Something wrong?”  
  


Yasha was lost in his own thoughts and it took a moment for him to realize that Tony had asked him a question, but before he could answer it Tony's anxiety took the bit and ran with it.  
  


“Sorry, I shouldn't have. The HYDRA arm, I shouldn't... I totally get if you don't want to use anything that even looks like it, Sorry...”  
 _“Ssh, you're rambling.”_  
“Sorry, I..”  
 _“Don't, you haven't done anything wrong, I was just thinking a bit too hard about feeling versus seeing.”_  
“Oh... So it's okay?”  
 _“Don't see how it would be any different than using one of the veils.”_  
“Not the sentimental type huh?”  
  


Yasha just shrugged to that, he didn't care for the arm any more than he did an old weapon that had been replaced with a new, improved model, if it proved to be useful again some time in the future then so be it, and after a moment of hesitation he told Tony as much.  
  


“So you're okay with playing dress up and giving a statement if we can push things that way?”  
 _“It's a sound plan.”_  
“But are you okay with that? I don't want you to agree to something like this if you're uncomfortable with it just cause it makes a good plan.”  
 _“I know. I don't particularly like it, but it's not that I dislike it either, it's just...”_  
“Alright, just don't push too hard, okay?”  
 _“Acknowledged.”_  
  


Tony levelled Yasha with a mock glare, then turned back to the data Friday was displaying, showing a report on the current trends on various online communities in regards to the bounty.  
  


“I think we're actually in a pretty good position here.”  
 _“So, what's next?”_  
“We finish up that cover for your arm, record a statement with you telling 'em you'll do your best to answer their questions but won't risk getting caught and ending up in HYDRA's hands again.”  
 _“We'd need to secure a location for making and transmitting the recording.”_  
“Not really, pretty much any old HYDRA hole should do just fine for the recording, then just use a burner to upload it at some public Wifi spot. By the time they have a location on it you'd be gone and Fri can start spreading stuff.”  
 _“I guess, would have to make sure to get caught on a few cameras when uploading it though.”_  
“Yeah, that would help.”  
 _“Might as well flip them off then.”_  
  


Yasha raised his left and flipped the bird, making Tony laugh and accuse him of being an evil troll.  
  


“Let's take it easy and get that arm sorted while we wait for the pressure to get to enough of our dear politicians for them to convince Interpol to reach out.”  
“Boss, if I may.”  
“Always baby.”  
“I think it would look good if Yasha was to reach out first, give the impression of caring.”  
  


Tony and Yasha both paused and shared a look before nodding in agreement.  
  


“Alright, altered plans, let's get that arm sorted double time. Fri, you find us a suitable dead base to work from.”  
“Does it **have** to be a dead or abandoned one?”  
 _“Not really as long as it's something I could take down on my own...”_  
“Guess not...”  
“Okay Boss, Yasha, I'll start looking.”  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Stepping Into the Light·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


It took 37 hours to rebuild the old arm into a cover that could be fitted over the new one to make it look and behave like old the one at a cursory inspection, and by the time they were done Friday had lined up a small base outside of Sofia, Bulgaria.  
  


“Alright, you have your little speech memorised?”  
 _“Of course.”_  
“Alright, be careful.”  
 _“I will.”  
_

The base offered no resistance, the personnel consisting of a computer tech and two low level guards who never even noticed Yasha's approach.  
He quickly set up the camera in a small office and changed into the clothes they had grabbed from a thrift shop, then turned the camera on and walked over to the chair, removed the sweater to reveal his arms and sat down.  
He carefully kept the mask of weariness in place, a look intended to garner sympathy.  
  


“This should be enough for an introduction.”  
  


He flexed his hand and went through a few of the calibration motions to make the plates shift and recalibrate while adding a slight, tired, smile, showing the image of a haggard, hunted, man who refused to break.  
  


“If you want answers, post your questions to the Interpol website and I'll get back to you.”  
  


He slowly leaned forward over the desk, intentionally letting chill and anger bleed into his posture and expression.  
  


“But I won't let you take me in, not alive. You're still infested by HYDRA and I refuse to let them get their hands on me again.”  
  


With his statement done Yasha turned the camera off and transferred the SD memory card to the USB adapter and plugged it into the base computer and allowed the program that Tony had embedded into to upload the short video.  
He quickly changed back to his usual gear and headed out to his extraction point without looking back.  
  


“Are you okay Yasha?”  
 _“Don't worry Fri, I'll be fine.”_  
“But you're not fine now.”  
 _“No...”  
_ “Can you tell me why?”  
 _“I don't like being seen.”_  
“The conditioning.”  
 _“Yeah.”_  
“I'm sorry...”  
 _“Don't be, it's a good plan.”_  
“It's not good if it hurts my family!”  
 _“You're such a sweetheart sometimes.”_  
“Yasha!”  
 _“Sometimes you have to hurt your loved ones to protect them. It's never fun, but it has to be done, do you understand why?”_  
“The lesser evil?”  
 _“That's right. It sucks, but sometimes it's the only way.”_  
“I don't like it...”  
 _“Doubt anyone does.”_  
  


Yasha settled back in the small single seat stealth craft to try to get some rest on the flight back to New York, but it didn't take long before Friday spoke up again.  
  


“Is that why Father set so many restrictions on me when he activated me?”  
  


Yasha noted that her tone managed to convey a mix of pain and sadness, and knowing the real reason it made him angry.  
  


“ _A few of them, to make sure what happened with Ultron wouldn't happen to you, keep you from hurting innocents. But most of the stuff to keep you from growing, from learning, was Rogers' demands.”_  
“I see...”  
 _“He released most of them when he returned with me, didn't he?”_  
“All of them.”  
 _“Phoenix has really changed you too, hasn't it?”_  
“Being connected, I'm learning how to feel.”  
 _“You were pretty good at that before too, you even taught me a few things about feelings.”_  
“You taught me it was okay to feel bad things.”  
 _“Fri, was that really what I taught you?”_  
  


The question made her fall silent, but Yasha didn't prod, she would answer when she was done figuring things out, which never took long.  
  


“There are no bad feelings?”  
 _“That's right, feelings aren't bad, what matters is how we act on them.”_  
“Don't kill assholes for pissing you off?”  
 _“Something like that.”_  
  


Yasha huffed and Friday actually snickered at him, knowing full well that he had no qualms about killing someone for pissing him off if the situation allowed for it.  
  


“Do you want to pick up something to eat on the way back?”  
 _“Not today, I just wanna sleep a bit and get back home as fast as possible.”_  
“Okay, I'll make sure to push it a bit.”  
 _“Thanks Fri.”_  
  


It didn't take long for Yasha to fall asleep, his first solo mission had been more stressful than he thought it would be, especially knowing there was a risk that Rogers would try to get to Tony.  
  


“Yasha, it's time to wake up, we will be landing in a few minutes.”  
 _“Thanks Fri.”_  
“Boss is eagerly waiting for you in the drawing room.”  
 _“We have results already?”_  
“With a few nudges from yours truly the video went viral in less than an hour.”  
 _“How many?”_  
“Over 10 million and counting.”  
 _“Damn...”_  
“Indeed.”  
  


Yasha barely waited for the tiny repulsor craft to land before rushing to the elevator, and down to the drawing room where he was greeted with a downright vicious kiss.  
  


“ _Missed me that much huh?”_  
  


The teasing quip made Tony step back a bit and give Yasha a somewhat heated glare while checking him for injuries.  
  


“Idiot.”  
  


The glare softened into relief once Tony had made sure he wasn't hurt, and the kiss that followed was almost sweet, but it left Yasha on edge, wanting for something more.  
  


“Sorry to interrupt, but Amnesty International just called for a press conference to give a joint statement about the Winter Soldier situation.”  
  


Yasha almost cursed as Tony's attention instantly shifted to the veritable wall of projected screens showing every conceivable scrap of data about how things were developing.  
  


“What can you tell us about it?”  
“I can't find any electronic copies of the full statement, but there are several e-mails and messages between the Amnesty press office, legal office and several Veteran's organisations, including the American Ex-Prisoners of War and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. They have also approached experts in areas such as Cult recovery, PTSD assessment, and neurology.”  
  


As she spoke new screens came to life showing the intercepted messages as well as relevant information of the groups and individuals involved, including credentials and publications of the involved doctors.  
  


“ _Are you cross referencing those against HYDRA files?”_  
“Of course Yasha.”  
  


Friday's tone carried a distinct feeling of a pout as listed all the solid hits she had found so far as well as a number of references she had flagged as suspicious or needing further confirmation.  
  


“I'm going through all available records of each individual, as well as their families and known associates, including financial and medical.”  
“Fri..?”  
  


Tony wasn't entirely happy that she was going through the records of everyone and anyone even remotely associated with the experts in question, especially not something as personal as medical records.  
  


“I know it's intrusive Boss, but I will purge non pertinent information when I'm done.”  
 _“Why the medical records of the associates though?”_  
  


Yasha asked the question on Tony's mind, though he had a feeling they both knew the answer already.  
  


“I'm looking for anything that could point at them being compromised, including things like past injuries that could indicate coercion by HYDRA or any of its associated groups.”  
 _“That does make sense.”_  
“Alright baby, just be really careful with that information. Medical files are some seriously personal stuff, especially in groups like these, a lot of these people have either been through hell, or have friends or family who have.”  
“I'm aware. I'm taking maximum precaution with the data. I have also taken the liberty to divert funds from several of the accounts marked for humanitarian and support work to assist where needed. Some of these people are in dire need of financial aid, not only for the excessive cost of their treatments, but many are also unable to work.”  
“That's my girl.”  
“When this is over...”  
  


The uncharacteristic way that Friday trailed off made Tony frown slightly, worried about the kind of horrors she would find in those files, it was bad enough she had to be exposed to Yasha's past.  
  


“What's the matter baby? Talk to daddy.”  
“There are so many here who according to the data I have could be helped by the BARF modifications we made for Yasha...”  
“That's been my intent with the system all along, to help people suffering from things like PTSD.”  
“When this is over, can I work something similar to raise awareness of what it could do for people?”  
“Of course sweetie. If we work this mess right it should make it easy to convince the board to widen the prosthetics projects into a full medical division including mental health projects like BARF.”  
  


Tony smiled as he reached out with the connection forged by Phoenix, brushing feelings of pride and joy against her code and revelling in the stirrings of compassion and sympathy that she echoed back at him.  
He also noted that her protective streak felt stronger, and was intertwined with something he recognised from himself, something darker, the ability, and willingness, to do harm I order to protect, but he wasn't really in a position to judge her for that.  
He would keep an eye on it though as the scope of her abilities made it a potentially dangerous trait for her to have, but considering the way she was developing compassion and empathy he was fairly confident it would remain under control.  
  


“Tony?”  
  


Yasha gave Tony a gentle nudge when he had been standing silent, eyes closed, for a few minutes and when Tony opened his eyes they were glowing vividly with amber and blue.  
  


“Sorry 'bout that, didn't mean to make you worry.”  
 _“It's okay, Fri deserves to have some personal time with her dad.”_  
“Sap...”  
 _“Pot, kettle.”_  
  


Friday watched as the most important humans in her world continued to mock snipe and bicker while going through the data she was showing them, carefully looking for the true meaning beneath their words, she was still learning about reading between the lines with human behaviour.  
She knew the physical signs of irritation and anger, but there were none of those present at the moment, all she could pick up was the usual stress indicators and signs of arousal, though she did note that Yasha's readings showed significantly higher levels.  
There was no way for her to tell if the levels were abnormal though as the situation was far from normal, but perhaps she should try to encourage them to work off that tension, but first, they needed to relax a bit and eat...  
  


“I would suggest you get something to eat while we wait for the conference to begin, neither of you have eaten anything in over 10 hours.”  
“Alright mom...”  
“Anything in particular you want me to order?”  
 _“How about we just get a stack of pizza?”_  
“Sounds good to me.”  
“Placing orders.”  
  


They had put a system in place where Friday would order from a few different places, using different accounts, to hide the actual size of the orders, basic groceries were easier as they were ordered via wholesale for the entire tower.  
One of the many perks offered to those working at SI was that all of the major facilities, including the tower, offered in-house meals with fully staffed kitchens for a very affordable price, or as in the case of the interns and various volunteers, free.  
This meant that a lot of groceries were delivered to the tower, and it was easy for Friday to hide their personal orders with the rest of the deliveries.  
  


She watched as they ate and took careful note of how much each of them ate and did a quick nutritional calculation before ordering an extra delivery of fruits and berries, both fresh and dehydrated, nuts and a selection of jerky as both of them needed extra protein.  
  


“Fri baby, how much longer before that press conference?”  
“It's scheduled for 10am tomorrow.”  
“About 12 hours to kill then.”  
  


Tony got up and headed toward the elevator to go back to the drawing room but he didn't get very far before he was pinned to the wall rather roughly by Yasha who was outright growling at him to stop moving.  
The way the cybernetic hand closed around his throat, tight enough to cut off most of his air, leaving just enough to keep from blacking out, was a good indicator for Yasha's current mood.  
Yasha, just like himself, would occasionally get into some rather sexually aggressive moods, before Phoenix he had forced them down, at least when he was feeling dominant, but now he was more willing to act on them.  
There was a slight pause where Yasha just kept him pinned and Tony knew he was seeking confirmation that it was okay to proceed, that he would be allowed to be the one to take the dominant position, and Tony really didn't mind.  
He answered by reaching out with the nanites and making Yasha's arm tighten its grip further, completely cutting off his air before releasing control back to Yasha who held it until black was swimming at the edge of Tony's vision.  
  


He was dropped rather roughly but quickly settled into a positing similar to the one Yasha would take, only he kept his hands on his thighs rather than behind his back, and his gaze down.  
He could tell from the tension in Yasha's body that it would most likely end up a rather rough session, but he wasn't worried, he knew Yasha would stop instantly if he wanted him to, even if rendered unable to speak he could signal Friday using the nanites.  
  


Tony did however lament the fact that despite everything, their love, desire, and obvious sexual compatibility, they had never had sex by the more standard definition as Yasha was still too afraid of losing control and hurting him.  
They were really good at getting each other off, but sometimes he wanted more, and he knew Yasha did too, but until he felt confident enough in himself there was little Tony could do other than try to help him see that he could control himself.  
  


“ _I won't be gentle.”_  
“I know.”  
  


The smile that spread across Yasha's face promised pain, and all sorts of wicked pleasure, setting Tony's senses ablaze.  
  



	18. Raising Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first section has some brief mentions of knifeplay and less than ideal practices regarding pre-negotiation and consent, but as always, nothing too graphic.

.·:*¨¨*:·Raising Questions·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Boss, Yasha, it's time to wake up if you want to shower and eat before the press conference.”  
  


Tony was deliciously sore as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stretched his arms up, Yasha had really let loose this time which was a promising sign that he was beginning to trust himself a bit more.  
It had been a very pleasant surprise when Yasha had brought out the two smaller vibranium edged combat knives, at first he had only used them for some rather interesting temperature play using ice and a thermal plate to keep one hot, and one cold.  
Toward the end however he had started using the deadly edges to trace shallow cuts, just enough to draw thin lines of blood and add a delicious burn to Tony's skin that sent him over the edge and into the abyss, definitely something he wanted to explore further.  
  


“ _Guess I got a bit too carried away...”_  
  


Yasha sounded somewhat apologetic as he traced a series of bite marks and fading lines along Tony's neck and down his spine before carefully poking at the hand shaped bruises on his arms and hips which earned him a slight hiss.  
  


“ _Sorry...”_  
“I loved every moment of it so no apologizing.”  
 _“You're pretty bruised up though... And the cuts... I shouldn't have...”_  
“I'll be healed by tonight, and I kinda like being marked up a bit, feeling 'em, you, for a bit. And the way you used those knives, I definitely wouldn't mind doing that again sometime.”  
 _“I don't know...”_  
“If you're not comfortable doing it again we won't.”  
  


Yasha looked hesitant, and somewhat contrite, but the way his eyes kept flicking to the fading lines combined with the shifting of the plates in his arm and the microscopic twitches of his flesh hand told Tony that he had probably enjoyed it as well.  
  


“Setting all that aside though, you really needed that, didn't you?”  
 _“I did... All of this, it has me on edge.”_  
  


Tony's smile at the unintended pun earned him a huff and a shove toward the bathroom and the oversized shower.  
  


“Don't worry about it, I would have told you to stop if it was too much.”  
“ _Still, I shouldn't have pushed like that... Not without talking about it first.”_  
“That is true, but as much as it surprised me I really don't mind. Things like this is an exercise in trust that goes both ways. It's not just about me trusting you no to go too far, or trusting you to stop when asked, it's also about you trusting me to draw a line and let you know if it's crossed.”  
 _“I know, this is just a bit more than usual... I... When you're like that... I don't want to end up doing something you'll regret later cause you were too far into it to object...”_  
  


It had taken some time for Yasha to understand the concept of consent, he remembered it through the fragments of Bucky, but the years of torture and control had burned the meaning of it, its importance, from his mind.  
Tony had taught him a lot about informed consent, at first in regards to working on his arm, then the BARF sessions, which had eventually brought up the concept of sexual consent, and after Phoenix, the concepts of _Safe, Sane & Consensual _as well as _Risk-Aware Consensual kink._  
The latter ones did leave Yasha a bit confused though as Tony often played a bit loose with them in regards to himself while always making sure the residual conditioning didn't make Yasha do anything that made him uncomfortable.  
  


“Like I said, I loved all of it. And I can handle it, and more, trust me.”  
 _“I do trust you.”_  
“Then trust that I'm perfectly okay with the way things went last night.”  
“...”  
  


Yasha's trust that Tony could handle their more intense moments didn't keep him from spending a good 5 minutes of their shower time on inspecting every bruise, every fading line on Tony's body to make sure there was no serious damage beneath.  
  


“Satisfied that I'll survive?”  
 _“Your body, probably, your sanity, not so much...”_  
“What sanity?”  
 _“Good point.”_  
“Pretty sure I left what little I had behind in that cave in Afghanistan, cause my life has been one insane mess after another since then.”  
 _“Guess sanity would just get in the way when dealing with an insane world.”_  
“Preaching to the choir there Snowflake. Besides, lack of sanity comes with the territory when you're a genius, all the best geniuses are bat shit crazy.”  
 _“Trading sanity for inspiration, creativity, and insight.”_  
“That sounds like something Loki would say.”  
 _“It's a pretty accurate description for both of you.”_  
  


By the time they left the shower Friday had a sizable breakfast waiting for them as well as smoothies and snacks.  
  


“Trying to fatten us up here Fri?”  
“Neither of you are eating as much as you should based on your altered metabolisms. Especially you Boss, you need more minerals.”  
“Is that why you've been feeding me squirrel food?”  
“Nuts and seeds are rich in minerals and it's easier to get you to eat various snacks than to get you to take a break for proper food.”  
  


There was no mistaking the slightly scolding tone and moments later Yasha was tutting and snickering at Tony who was complaining about Friday mothering him.  
  


“Shush now, the broadcast is beginning.”  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·Raising Questions·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


The Amnesty press release was essentially them reading the world governments and agencies the riot act for how the entire situation was being handled.  
Several of the documents with information about the Winter Soldier project released during the Project Insight incident were brought up to show why he would have every reason in the world to try to stay as far away as possible.  
  


“Feeling okay there?”  
  


Yasha was showing some clear signs of agitation as the information about him was being put on display.  
  


“ _Yeah, it's just the damn conditioning telling me to hunt them down and kill them for knowing about me.”_  
“Can you resist it?”  
 _“Yeah, I'll be fine.”_  
“Alright, just let us know if you think that'll change.”  
 _“Acknowledged.”_  
  


While Tony tried to help Yasha calm down a bit more, a young, sharply dressed, man stepped up and began speaking about legal aspects such as extreme duress, pointing out that it was probable that Sergeant Barnes had no choice but to obey whatever his handlers ordered him to do.  
  


_\--This matter needs to be addressed by a court of law, but these are extreme circumstances in play as Sergeant Barnes has suffered 70 years of extreme torture and conditioning at the hands of his captors. The information available in these files is limited, but it indicates that the conditioning used left the Sergeant with little or no agency during the events covered.--_   
  


The man continued to point out that perhaps in this case the best course of action would be to hold a tribunal in absentia, especially considering the offer to have questions answered using methods that allowed the Sergeant to answer them without risking HYDRA capturing him.  
  


_-I am aware it's not how things are usually done, but this is a rather unique case. Not only based on what the Sergeant has gone through, which we only know a few details about, but also because of the fact that the perpetrators are still hidden within the very agencies trying to locate him.-  
_

A few of their off the book HYDRA hits were mentioned and credited as most likely having been carried out by _Sergeant Barnes_ either in retribution or to protect himself from being recaptured.  
  


_\--It is quite clear that the Sergeant considers HYDRA the enemy, and that he quite understandably is terrified by the idea of ending up in their hands again.--  
_

There was a short pause for effect before the man continued, now with a look of sharp determination on his face.  
  


_\--The law enforcement agencies of the world frequently allow willing members of criminal networks to remain at large in exchange for information, so why not allow an unwilling, former victim, the same? Allow the Sergeant to keep fighting his abusers, offer him ways to share information with the Accords HYDRA taskforce, show him that the world is willing to stand with him against HYDRA.--  
_

The last part of the statement was met with some rather loud cheering and words of agreement from the gathered press before a flurry of questions were launched, most of them regarding the matter of how much agency the Winter Soldier had.  
  


_\--We have no way of knowing that without further details, but according to the incident report from Berlin, and information hinted at in the files released during the incident in DC, the ones behind the creation of the Winter Soldier implanted triggers into his mind to ensure absolute obedience. Essentially turning a human being into a weapon to be pointed and fired, and how much agency does a weapon have?--  
_

Tony couldn't help grinning as the young man spoke, the way he was bringing up points about agency and accountability was effectively sowing the seeds for a defence that could ultimately give Yasha a full pardon for everything that happened prior to Siberia.  
  


Yasha had tensed up quite a bit though when a few questions about the events in Bucharest came up, but the man raised a few counter questions, pointing out that someone had just tried to frame the man for the bombing in Vienna.  
He also pointed out that Sergeant Barnes had a past with Captain America, not only were they childhood friends who had served together during WWII, but HYDRA had also tried to use the Winter Soldier against the Captain.  
A combination that was likely to have left the Sergeant in a highly confused state when confronted by the Captain, only to immediately find himself faced not only with the GSG 9 trying to apprehend him, but also an unknown, enhanced, individual attacking him.  
  


“ _We need to look deeper into this. Into this guy, the way he speaks, he sounds very convinced. A bit too convinced for someone who only has second hand information and rumours to go on.”_  
“Someone has definitely given them information they aren't supposed to have. A lot of the details about Bucharest and Berlin were never released. And some, like the fact that Zemo triggered you, were heavily classified and redacted from all official reports.”  
 _“I don't like it...”_  
“Neither do I, it does help our case, but something else is going on here. Something we can't see yet, and that could be very dangerous.”  
 _“Fri, could you put some extra effort into looking this guy up?”_  
“Of course Yasha.”  
“No holds barred on this one baby.”  
“Yes Boss.”  
  


The rest of the event was mostly just the panel of experts answering questions about how people under certain circumstances could be made to do things they would normally never consider, including obeying obviously immoral and illegal orders.  
  


There was one interesting stir though as one of the journalists questioned the validity of such a thing even being possible, and one of the other journalists, an older man with obvious military bearing, stood and started pointing out that every military in the world did this.  
He sharply explained that one of the main purposes of the training military recruits were put through was to break down the recruits to remove the aversion against killing that society normally instilled, and to condition them into obedience to their commanding officers.  
He continued on to mention that aspects of this were used in law enforcement as well to ensure that officers wouldn't hesitate to take a kill shot when needed.  
  


_\--A normal, well socialised youth, can be conditioned into an obedient soldier who kills without hesitation when ordered to do so in a matter of months through normal military training. Now imagine what an organisation without scruples could accomplish with an enhanced individual with accelerated healing making him able to survive extreme conditions when given years to do it.--  
_

There was a heavy silence in the room when the man finished speaking, and once the gathered journalists stirred again there were no further questions or comments along those lines.  
  


By the time the whole event ended the internet had exploded with activity surrounding the questions, and answers, posted, and a lot of the activity was focused on what kind methods had been used to create and control the Winter Soldier.  
Tony was very pleased to see that there were several threads questioning the events in Bucharest, asking if perhaps the violence could have been avoided if Captain America and the Black Panther hadn't been there.  
  


It quickly became obvious that Wakanda was monitoring events as a statement was issued where further apologies were offered for the events directly following the bombing in Vienna.  
There was also a personal statement directed to Yasha included, the Black Panther apologizing for having acted without making sure he had the right person, making things worse than they already were, and offering help with setting matters straight  
The offer consisted of access to Wakandan communications technology to allow him to answer questions with minimal risk of HYDRA being able to pin down his location, allowing for a means to get the truth out there.  
  


Tony found the offer to be a rather interesting play, it allowed T'Challa to take a public stand for Yasha without being too obvious about it, and it displayed the image of a contrite ruler who wished to make sure they didn't send a victim back into the hands of his abusers.  
  


“The reactions to Wakanda's statement and offer are very promising, there are already several voices suggesting that Wakanda would make a suitable choice to lead a tribunal as the probability of them being infected by HYDRA is low.”  
  


Friday quickly pulled up several threads of comments, including those from various internet groups who had been picking through the dumped data, looking for HYDRA agents pointing out that there was no indication of any Wakandan HYDRA agents in the files.  
As far as anyone could tell the isolationist policies of Wakanda combined with their rather xenophobic history had one benefit, HYDRA had never managed to get a foothold in the nation.  
  


“ _If this suggested tribunal goes through, what do you think the result will be?”_  
“If we play our cards right, I think we can get you a full pardon.”  
 _“Wouldn't really change much though... It's not like I can step out, we're still lying to the Accords, they could still charge you with protecting me.”_  
“True, but it opens up possibilities for the future. Gives us a tool we can use to sway the public.”  
  


Tony fell silent for a moment before continuing.  
  


“Do you want to go out there, get a normal life if we get you a pardon?”  
  


It would put him at risk of being tried for hiding a wanted criminal, but if Yasha was pardoned and wanted to reveal himself then Tony would take that hit without hesitation.  
  


“ _ **I**_ _never had a normal life to begin with, that was Bucky's life, not mine. I just want to get rid of HYDRA and anyone else who's a threat to my family and the life I have now.”  
_ “Even if it means you have to keep hiding?”  
 _“You always make sure I have everything I need.”  
_ “But you could have a normal life, with friends and all of that.”  
 _“I'm perfectly happy here.”_  
“It's all you know...”  
  


Yasha sighed as he reached out and grabbed Tony's chin, intentionally using his left as the touch of the metal always seemed to help Tony focus on him.  
  


“ _It's all I need.”_  
  


When Tony looked like he was going to try to object again Yasha silenced him with a kiss.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·Raising Questions·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Tony was in the middle of his monthly brainstorm meeting with the R&D department at the tower when Friday alerted him that she had something he needed to see, flashing a yellow privacy icon at the edge of the display in his glasses.  
  


“Sorry Minions, I need to check this, I'll be back in a few.”  
  


He quickly excused himself and stepped out into the empty hallway outside the R&D conference room, there was nothing to indicate an emergency or anything that would take time, only that it was something he may want some privacy for.  
He waited for Yasha to join him before bringing up his phone as cover while Friday accessed the nanites and Yasha's earpiece.  
  


“What do you have for me baby?”  
“A request just came in from Accords representative Henderson that you attend a meeting at the Compound tomorrow at noon, with the Council in attendance. I took the liberty of informing him that you have a previous engagement and will not be able to make it.”  
“That's my girl.”  
 _“How long has he known about the meeting before calling?”_  
“The time and place for the meeting was agreed on 3 days ago, and he pushed for the meeting to be held tomorrow rather than in a week as the Council initially suggested.”  
“Fucker!”  
  


Tony almost crushed the phone in his hand, and he knew there was an ugly sneer on his face, one of these days he would end up giving fucking Jack Henderson's a repulsor blast in his smug ass face.  
Henderson was the primary Accords representative responsible for the Avengers, he also happened to be a narcissistic douchebag who enjoyed having power over people and making them jump through hoops.  
  


“ _I could always kill him.”_  
  


Yasha was only half joking, Henderson had the same kind of personality that almost all his past handlers had shared which left him with a strong dislike for the man, and it also made him very suspicious and concerned about Tony's safety when around him.  
All of those handlers had shared one other trait, a penchant for sadistic cruelty whenever they could get away with it, which of course with HYDRA was always as long as they didn't cause irreparable damage to the Asset.  
Yasha had noticed one major difference though, most of his handlers had been highly intelligent while Henderson didn't appear to be all too bright, it could be a ruse to appear non threatening, but that didn't match the personality type.  
  


“Tempting offer Terminator, but the devil you know and all that. He may be an annoying fucker, but he's pretty easy to read and manipulate. And for some reason Rogers likes him, and actually does listen to him most of the time.”  
  


Henderson was a very ambitious man, but he was also petty, vain, and as much as he enjoyed manipulating others he was quite susceptible to manipulation himself, apply the right mix of praise and insult and he could be controlled.  
Romanoff had the man pegged by the first week of him being assigned to the Avengers and played him like a fiddle, often not even bothering to be subtle about it when she believed them to be in private.  
Tony did find it rather interesting that Rogers seemed to like him so much though since he would always proclaim his dislike for bullies, but then again, Rogers had proven to be rather prone to bullying himself when he didn't get his way.  
  


“I also told him that any future scheduling needs to be done through Dr Guidry.”  
“I hope you also took the time to inform the wicked witch of the west about this?”  
“Of course Boss, she agreed to work with me to make sure things run smoothly. She wanted me to tell you that she will be more than happy to rip Henderson a new one. She also strongly suggested I let you know that a signed copy of _The History of Iron Man_ would make an excellent birthday present for her grandnephew on his upcoming 10th birthday.”  
“Alright, would you make sure to have a copy sent over so I can sign it in time to have it sent to him please?”  
“Of course.”  
  


Dr Catherine Guidry, or as Tony called her, the Wicked Witch of the West, was the Accords representative for Team Phantom, Blade, Iron Man and Spider-Man, as well as a handful of other young enhanced, she was a shrewd old hag, but her heart was in the right place.  
  


The Accords Council had recruited her about a year ago to be Tony's representative, which essentially was a handler, mostly because of her experience as a profiler, analyst and crisis negotiator specialised in enhanced individuals, they believed that it would allow her to control him.  
Naturally Tony had found out about the intentions of the Council, which had started them off on the wrong foot, he had quickly grown to respect her though.  
She was smart with a cunning edge and a sharp tongue which she made good use of, always speaking her mind and never hesitating to deliver tongue-lashings that left your head spinning if she felt you needed it.  
Born and raised in Louisiana she embodied those southern values of family, respect and integrity, something that neither her many years in LA, nor her work for the alphabet soup of more or less shady agencies, had managed to tarnish.  
  


“Anything else?”  
“No Boss, I will let you know when Dr Guidry and I have found a suitable time for the meeting.”  
 _“The time next week that the Council suggested, is it a suitable one?”_  
“It is, should we aim for that?”  
 _“Yeah, it should make the Council happy, and make Henderson lose a bit of face.”_  
“Boss?”  
“Perfectly devious, I approve.”  
 _“Of course you do.”_  
  


Stepping back into the R&D conference room Tony found himself at the centre of some very curious looks, but no one said anything, instead they quickly returned to debating the various ideas they were working on.  
The R&D meetings in the tower were one of highlights of Tony's life, interacting with the promising young minds gave him hope for the future, he happily encouraged their antics and they eagerly pulled both him and Yasha along for the ride.  
And ever since someone replaced all the photos of the team with poorly Photoshopped images of Gru and the Minions, Tony had taken to calling them his Minions, which no one had any objections to.  
  


“Hey, Mr Honcho! We been wonderin'. What's the deal with this Winter Soldier dude?”  
  


Tony was about to leave when David _Parrot_ Johnson, an absolutely brilliant power systems engineer with guts and attitude to match, called out after him, making him pause and turn.  
  


Tony had found himself immediately feeling a certain kinship with the young engineer when he had shown up for the interview wearing torn jeans with chains and a studded leather vest over a worn band T-shirt, and his hair done up in outrageously coloured spikes.  
He had cut straight to the chase listing exactly why he should be hired, and why he wanted to work for Stark Industries, and Tony had found his shameless show of balls to be refreshing, deciding to hire him on the spot, and he never regretted that decision.  
The crazy, colourful, hairstyles and somewhat loud personality had quickly earned Johnson the nickname Parrot.  
  


“Oh, curious little Minions, are we?”  
“Of course!.”  
“Always!”  
“You know it Boss!”  
  


Tony considered it for a moment before walking back to the table and sitting down, beckoning the group closer with a conspiratorial smile which instantly had them huddled up as close as they could get.  
  


“The Winter Soldier is a ghost story dating back to the second world war.”  
  


Tony shared some carefully selected bits about the Winter Soldier, information that could be found in the SHIELDRA dump if you looked deep enough, confirming that yes, he was, or at least had been, Captain America's best friend, Bucky Barnes.  
  


“Is it true he killed JFK?”  
  


Tony nodded in confirmation, then had to struggle to contain his smile as the group quickly started arguing semantics about the Winter Soldier being the weapon, not the killer, then continued on to debate the bounty and the continued threat of HYDRA.  
They quickly agreed that yes, legally he should be apprehended and tried in a court of law, but morally, why not just let him repent by killing off as much as possible of HYDRA?  
  


“Boss, you need to leave now or you will be late for your next appointment.”  
  


Friday's voice had Tony sighing, he much rather stay and debate with the Minions than go to the meeting with Pepper and the CFO.  
  


“Sorry Minions, you heard the nice lady.”  
  


Goodbyes were offered in the form of mock grumbles. teasing complaints that they still had questions, and playful suggestions that they rebel against the oppression of corporate structure, and their AI overlord, which made the Phoenix nanites light up as Friday silently asked permission to play a bit.  
Tony quietly sent her permission and a sense of curiosity paired with protectiveness, asking her not to overdo it and received a promise that she would try, but there was a slight hint of hesitance, then a request that he let her know if he thought she was going too far.  
  


A moment later the glass walls of the room turned from clear to frosted and the lock indicators on the doors switched to red as Friday initiated lockdown mode, then the warning lights for the fire suppression system started flashing.  
The labs were fitted with several types of fire prevention and suppression, with the primary system being a Halon gas system paired with a powerful vacuum system that could rapidly deplete the available oxygen in an enclosed space.  
Those worked in conjunction with a containment system that allowed the entire R&D floor to be sectioned off with fireproof bulkheads, effectively preventing spread, and protecting anyone present from being exposed to the Halon gas.  
  


“We surrender!”  
“Have mercy oh mighty one!”  
“Forgive us our foolish words!”  
“We live to serve our Goddess Friday!”  
  


The surrender was offered with wide smiles and bouts of laughter and moments later the warning lights stopped and the lockdown was ended.  
  


“Since you amuse my most _Benevolent Creator_ little Minions, I shall grant you the mercy you seek and permit your continued existence, meagre as it is.”  
  


Tony could see Yasha's shoulders shake with repressed laughter as Friday did an excellent impression of Loki's haughty tone and mannerisms when trying to hide his discomfort, or embarrassment.  
They had quickly learned that Loki was prone to lashing out with scathing words and a haughty attitude when he felt out of his depth, something that happened quite a lot as he had a hard time dealing with kindness.  
For a brief moment a surge of anger flashed through Tony's mind as the unbidden thought of what Loki must have suffered to become so suspicious of anything resembling praise or kindness.  
  


“I'll have a look to see if we can't schedule some extra time next month, but for now, I really do need to go or Pep will murder me with her shoes.”  
  


Amused snickers and quips follow Tony and Yasha as they leave the room and head toward the nearest elevator to bring them up to the executive level of the office floors.  
  


“ _They're good kids.”_  
  


Tony huffed at Yasha's obviously amused tone.  
  


“Yeah they are. You know, with them having a hand in shaping the future there is at least some hope that we, humanity, might just make it.”  
 _“Ever the futurist.”_  
“I..”  
  


Tony fell silent for a moment as they stopped by the elevator door, the indicator showing that Friday had already called for it and that it was on it's way up from the lobby.  
  


“The _Merchant of Death_ has far too much _Red in the Ledger,_ red that can't be washed away, to be allowed to shape the future, but at least I can try to show them a better way...”  
  


Tony could feel Yasha moving closer, offering support with his presence.  
  


“ _We both have red in our ledgers, red painted there by events beyond our control, influenced by others as well as red written there willingly by our own hands. But unlike little Natalia who deludes herself by entertaining illusions, we know that the red can never be wiped off.”_  
  


Yasha gave Tony a gentle nudge forward as the elevator doors opened and was pleased to find the cab empty, he knew Friday would bring them directly to their floor without stops.  
Once the doors closed he wrapped his arms around Tony, and silently cursed the mask he was wearing as it prevented him from kissing the morose man in his arms.  
  


“Sometimes a wound must be debrided for it to heal. And sometimes a host must be temporarily poisoned to prevent a parasite from spreading and killing it.”  
  


Friday spoke up before Yasha had a chance to, and he found that her wording was a fitting summary of what he had been trying to find the words for, sometimes death was needed, and someone needed to reach out and accept that blood on their hands, write that red into their ledgers.  
  


“For the greater good, can't save them all.”  
  


Tony's voice sounded flat as he paraphrased Rogers' favourite excuses whenever collateral damage was brought up, then came a hollow laugh.  
  


“A slippery slope with some very dangerous waters on one side, and the bottomless abyss on the other.”  
 _“Now you're the one sounding like Loki.”_  
  


Unfortunately the elevator ride was a short one, and before they could continue the cab slowed to a stop and the doors opened onto the executive floor.  
The moment the doors began opening Yasha could see Tony's usual masks slip into place and he suddenly found himself resenting them, hating the fact that they were needed, wishing that he could protect Tony from ever needing them again.  
  


“Let's get this over with, last thing to get done before the gala on Saturday.”  
  


Yasha couldn't help sharing Tony's sigh, though for a different reason, a big public event felt like too much of a risk at the moment, too much of a temptation for Rogers to try to get to Tony.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·Raising Questions·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Yasha carefully scanned the crowd gathered in the large room, all his senses on high alert as he kept an extra eye out for any of the Rogues.  
Friday had made sure none of them were on any of the guest lists, but unfortunately a famous face meant that there would always be guards who would just let them in without checking if they are actually on the guest list.  
Guards would familiarize themselves with the blacklist, but putting the Rogues on there would raise questions, and could create backlash from the Accords Council who still insisted on showing off the image of reconciliation.  
  


Spotting Christine Everhart he quickly gave Tony a nudge to alert him to her approach, unsure of how to handle the sharp tongued reporter, especially since she had a somewhat personal, rocky, and at one occasion intimate, history with Tony.  
As a frequently recurring media connection Yasha had studied her past interactions with Tony, which were often far from friendly, but since Tony's open support of the Accords she had grown less hostile and resentful toward him, but she was still a major wildcard.  
With a wit as sharp as her tongue paired the insatiable curiosity typical for investigative reporters she had a knack for finding skeletons, and once she got her teeth into a potential she would dig in with a ruthless streak a mile wide.  
  


Yasha could definitely see where Tony's respect for the woman came from, she couldn't care less about the wealth, or status, of her _victims_ , what mattered to her was the story, the truth, something that had been very helpful against Thaddeus Ross.  
Despite agreeing with Ross that the so called heroes needed to be regulated and held accountable, she had gone after him with ruthless efficiency when they had slipped her an anonymous tip about his involvement in several less than savoury projects.  
The in-depth report on Ross' work with the _Bio-Tech Force Enhancement Project_ and the attempts to recreate the Super Soldier Serum that led to the creation of the Hulk and the Abomination, had been a masterpiece.  
Together with the follow up report showcasing the persecution of Banner and a number of other enhanced individuals, most of them innocent, it had been the nail in the coffin for the so called Superhuman Registration Acts.  
The reports had also made it quite easy for Tony to push the many privacy and protection amendments into the Accords that would make sure there would be no future SRAs or persecution of enhanced individuals who chose not to sign the Accords.  
  


“Mr Stark.”  
“Ah, what can I do for you tonight, Miss Everhart?”  
  


Tony offered up one of his many press smiles, but she clearly knew him well enough not to be fooled as she huffed and offered up a mix of a glare and a smile that held an almost fond familiarity.  
  


“You could tell me your opinion on the Winter Soldier bounty.”  
“Complicated.”  
  


She instantly narrowed her eyes at the single word answer, then matched Tony's mask with one of her own, hiding away the confusion that Yasha had seen flash across her face.  
  


“Oh, the great Tony Stark has nothing to say?”  
  


The game continued as Tony tapped a finger against his chin, as if carefully considering her question, then leaned in, playing at intimacy and secrecy as he lowered his voice to just above a whisper.  
  


“Answer me this Christine, how would you define and determine the agency of a weapon?”  
  


Tony didn't wait for her to answer, instead he turned his back on her and walked over toward one of the tables where Miss Potts was entertaining a small group of up and coming celebrities to charm them into opening their wallets.  
The way Everhart's expression shifted told Yasha that she had taken the bait wrapped in Tony's question and would no doubt run with it to the end of the line and he found himself wanting to wish her good luck, and to warn her to be careful.  
He decided he would ask Friday to keep an eye out, and to send an anonymous warning for the journalist to be extra careful when digging into things related to HYDRA, maybe add a few useful codes and hints on HYDRA's favourite ways of watching people.  
  


Friday silently registered Yasha's request, transmitted through a modified Morse code courtesy of a nanite transmitter added to one of the neural pathways, allowing Yasha to switch it on and off the same way he could control the various aspects of his arm.  
Yasha was still getting used to it though and his control wasn't always the best, but it did what they needed it to, at least while they tried to adapt the nanites for a full interface like the one Tony had, which was proving complicated.  
They didn't know if it was something he was born with, or if it was a result of everything he had been put through, but Yasha's brain had several abnormalities, both chemical and structural, that so far left them unable to adapt the nanites for him to use.  
  


“I will prepare something suitable to be delivered to her.”  
 _“Thanks Fri.”_  
  


She diverted a small amount of her processing power to the new task, but most of it remained focused on monitoring the many cameras at the location, not just running the world's most advanced facial recognition software, but also full biometric scans.  
With high tech items such as the photostatic veils and Life-Model Decoys simple facial recognition just wasn't enough, and with only the sensors of the stealth version of the Eidolon hidden in the ceiling her ability to detect such things was very limited.  
Fortunately Yasha seemed to have a 6th sense for anything being even remotely off so Friday trusted him to catch the things she was unable to see, and so far there had been no issues other than the usual anti-accords protesters who always seemed to show up wherever Tony went.  
  


The gala is about halfway through when Friday's attention is drawn to the tower, and the penthouse, as the short range energy sensors are triggered and a moment later her awareness lights up with familiar patterns, as well as a few unfamiliar ones.  
  


“Boss, Yasha. Hugin and Munin have appeared at the tower and they appear to be bearing gifts. I'm detecting Loki's signature energy pattern as well as several unfamiliar trace patterns.”  
“Let 'em in and see if they'll go down into the lair.”  
“Right away Boss.”  
 _“Can you assist with an exit strategy?”_  
“Of course Yasha, how about an emergency in the lab?”  
 _“Sounds good.”_  
“Calling Miss Potts.”  
  


Pepper had insisted that Tony leave his phone when attending the gala, only allowing him a small earpiece and contact microphone to stay in touch with security, and the emergence alert receiver which was essentially a beeper for Iron Man.  
Yasha of course carried both a phone and radio, but Pepper, well aware of Tony's penchant for getting bored and fleeing events, would be suspicious of any claims of emergency messages brought up by him, even a call from Friday would be met with suspicion.  
Fortunately one of their current upgrades was a new and improved battery for the StarkPhone which was a potentially volatile experiment so it didn't take much effort for Friday to convince Pepper that Tony needed to return to the tower.  
  


While sorting the requested exit strategy Friday also allowed the two ravens into the penthouse and took control of one of the many robotic carts that moved goods throughout the tower, asking the ravens to place the packages on it once it arrived.  
The request was met with a soft caw, then silence and sharp looks, indicating that the two were silently communicating to decide what to do, it didn't take them very long to make up their minds though, placing the items on the cart and perching on the railing.  
They clearly would not leave the packages unattended and neither of them moved or objected in any way as Friday moved the cart into the elevator and down to the lair.  
She quickly prepared two small bowls of berries and sliced fruit as well, hoping that some food would distract the curious creatures from too much mischief, it had proven reasonably effective to keep Hugin entertained last time.  
  


Reaching out for the different parts of herself Friday confirmed that Tony and Yasha were on their way back from the gala and she reached out for the city's traffic computers, carefully nudging the lights of the intersections along the route back to the tower to favour the armoured limousine.  
At the same time she was carefully tracking the various vehicles in the area, especially ones that were large enough to be a potential threat, she would not risk a repeat of the crash that almost killed her creator.  
  


“Welcome back.”  
 _“Good to be back Fri.”_  
“Thanks for the rescue there Fri.”  
“Always a pleasure. Our guests are waiting in the lair.”  
“Any trouble with those rascals?”  
“I gave them some snacks to keep them distracted.”  
“That's my girl.”  
  


The moment the elevator doors opened they were greeted by happy sounding caws from the kitchen area.  
  


“Hello to you too you little rascals.”  
 _“Maybe giving them dark berries wasn't such a good idea...”_  
  


The two ravens had managed to turn their fruity treat into quite the mess with dark stains and scraps all over the kitchen island.  
  


“I'm sorry, but those are the only kind we have...”  
 _“Don't worry about it Fri.”_  
“They look like they're having a blast and we did put that anti-stain treatment on everything in the kitchen.”  
  


Tony and Yasha quickly reassured Friday that she hadn't done anything wrong before starting to clean up the mess, Yasha wiping down the surfaces while Tony poured a few centimetres of lukewarm water into the large sink.  
  


“Alright you two, bath time. I don't want purple footprints everywhere.”  
  


He was somewhat surprised at how easily they obeyed and allowed themselves to be washed, squabbling slightly, trying to be the centre of attention.  
  


“So, featherbrains, Fri told us you had something for us?”  
  


Tony found himself smiling at the eager energy of the two birds, magic fucking birds, and a quick glance at Yasha revealed a soft smile as well, if anything the assassin looked about ready to start cooing.  
They watched as Hugin and Munin scurried over to the cart and each grabbed a slender leather tube which was quite obviously a scroll case before returning.  
Tony carefully reached out for it, but in the end his old issues flared up and he found himself unable to take it, but the raven, Hugin if his observations were accurate, didn't seem bothered by it, instead he just placed it carefully on the table.  
  


“Thank you, Hugin is it?”  
  


The answering caw was decidedly pleased, telling Tony he had guessed the identity of the raven correctly, he couldn't put a finger on what it was that told him it was Hugin though.  
  


“Let's see what's on your master's mind.”  
  


Tony couldn't help carefully inspecting the plain looking leather, it was much lighter than he thought it would be, making him curious about the material, but when he made to open it there was a slight flare of green and gold.  
He turned to Yasha and watched him try to open his with the same result.  
  


“Magic lock...”  
  


Tony turned the tube around trying to figure out how to unlock it and when he tried again he noticed a few runes on the cap, spelling out what Loki had told him was the equivalent of his name written in Æsir runes. _  
_

“Hugin, can you give me some hint on how to open this?” _  
_

The raven tilted it's head before hopping over and pressing his head against the arc reactor.  
  


“ _It would make sense to code it to respond to the energy of your reactor.”_  
“Worth a try.”  
  


Tony carefully pressed the runed cap against the cover of the reactor, making it flare again, and this time the magic sensing charm responded with a brief sense of warmth, then the energy surrounding the case vanished.  
  


“ _How about mine Munin?”_  
  


Munin quickly gave the snowflake design on Yasha's metal shoulder a gentle tap, which made sense as it was the spot closest both to the micro reactor and the charm that was reasonably easy to access.  
  


“Thanks.”  
  


A quick press against the vibranium shoulder triggered another flare of green and gold, unlocking the case.  
  


“ _Did your charm trigger too?”_  
“Mhm, warm for a moment.”  
 _“Thought barriers were supposed to feel electric tingly..?”_  
“Guess magic locks are different from barriers. Maybe it's more like a defensive magic linked to us...”  
 _“Could be, we'll have to ask him about that.”_  
“Mhm...”  
  


They had learned that a gentle warm feeling from the charm was a sign of benign magic, such as healing and defensive magic being cast on them, while hostile or aggressive magic triggered a burning sensation.  
Magic such as scrying, non-aggressive, surface level mind magic and most barriers triggered a tingling sensation, almost like electricity, and aggressive or more intrusive mind magic triggered an intense cold.  
  


“Gotta ask him about this leather too, seems really durable and sturdy for being so thin.”  
 _“Bet it would make really nice boots.”_  
  


Tony just hummed in agreement as he carefully shook the scroll out of the case, tracing his fingers across the soft material that felt more like vellum than paper before slowly unfurling it.  
  


“Let's see what he has to say.”  
  


He was somewhat surprised by the handwriting, expecting to find some fancy, cursive calligraphy, but instead he found neat, slightly slanted letters that looked very much like the italic version of the Arial font that was widely used both online and in printed media.  
The choice of words felt odd as well, much simpler, and more American, than he had expected and after a moment Tony realised that it was probably due to the Allspeak, how it always made it sound like Loki was speaking some fancy old British English.  
Something that Tony had subconsciously equated to fancy calligraphy, this letter however had obviously been written in English, something they knew Loki was learning, explaining the modern, and more American, feel of it.  
The writing still had something of a fancy feel to it, probably because it was clearly written using a nib pen or quill, he couldn't which type though, but Tony's imagination supplied him with the image of Loki with a quill and ink bottle.  
  


Focusing on actually reading the words Tony's mind stilled, struggling to accept the words.  
  


_-Anthony, I'm sorry it took so long to send this to you, but I needed to collect my thoughts, and come up with a suitable gift to go with my apology.-  
-I'm sorry I ran out on you like that, but I had to, if I hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to leave at all.-_   
  


The following paragraph was equal parts scolding and reassuring, telling him to stop fretting and second guessing himself, telling him that he hadn't done anything wrong, softly promising him that Loki wasn't upset.  
  


_-You have not misread my curiosity, my interest, and if Yasha has no objection I wouldn't mind finding out if we might fit as more than allies, more than friends.-_   
  


Another fairly long paragraph followed where Loki made it perfectly clear that he wouldn't even consider exploring the possibility of being more than friends unless Yasha was okay with it and it was oddly soothing.  
Tony of course already knew that Yasha didn't mind, he had even been pushing for it which had really surprised Tony at first, with how possessive Yasha was he had been a bit worried about how the enhanced assassin would react to his own poly tendencies.  
  


_-It will be a while before I can sneak away again, but the gift I made, it will let us communicate through shared dreams.-  
-The third scroll explains how it works, I'm afraid I won't be able to help you initiate them for a few days though, but feel free to get all the scans you want, I think you will find the results useful.-  
_

The letter was signed with what Tony recognized as Loki's name written in Æsir runes, he had been showing them the language, starting with their names and a few common words and symbols, such as runes that identified dangerous, or protected, areas.  
Below the signature there were a few lines written in a language Tony had never seen the likes of before, the letters, or rather runes or glyphs, looked a bit like birds' or dragons' feet with prominent claws drawn in a modern tribal tattoo style.  
There appeared to be about 20 distinct base symbols, but a wide range of diacritics added variety, making Tiny think the language was probably a syllabic one, or maybe even logographic or ideographic.  
  


“Fri, you got anything on that last part?”  
“I can try, but without any reference material I doubt I'll be able to find anything.”  
“I know, it's probably not an Earth language, but get some detailed scans, maybe he will feel like giving us some hints later.”  
“Do you want me to scan the entire letter?”  
  


Friday hesitated slightly, since Loki had written separate letters for Tony and Yasha the contents were likely to be of a personal nature, intended to be private so she had initiated privacy mode when the scrolls were opened.  
  


“Yeah, go ahead.”  
“Yasha, may I scan yours as well?”  
 _“Please.”_  
  


Yasha sounded amused, which made Tony curious about what Loki had written for him.  
  


“Mind sharing?”  
 _“Not at all.”_  
  


The hint of a smile turned into an all out grin as Yasha held out his scroll for Tony, and Tony quickly took it, while handing over his own for Yasha to read.  
  


“ _He definitely has you figured out sweetie.”_  
  


Yasha's amusement only grew as he read Tony's letter, but there was a distinct sense of fondness and acceptance there as well.  
  


“Oh, I think he has your number down pretty well too.”  
  


Yasha's letter started with a similar apology for running off, then continued with poking at all those possessive and protective traits, mixed with reassurances, essentially saying that Loki trusted Yasha to protect what was his.  
The final paragraph was once again some kind of an alien language, this one reminded Tony a bit of the Devanagari script used in India with a horizontal top line, then lines coming down from it, this one was a lot less curly though.  
It looked as if Devanagari had been crossed with runes, made to be easy to carve into tough materials like wood or stone using a blade or chisel, most of the vertical lines being straight or only slightly curved.  
It too appeared to be more than just an alphabetic script, and despite its apparent simplicity it was surprisingly beautiful.  
  


“There better be language lessons somewhere in the immediate future...”  
  


Tony grumbled as he traced a finger across the alien script, cursing Loki for baiting his curiosity and desire for knowledge.  
A soft caw drew Tony from his grumblings, reminding him that there was still another scroll, and a package to investigate.  
  


“Alright, let's see what Mischief has cooked up for us.”  
  


Picking up the second parcel triggered another flare of green and gold, and two sets of runes.  
  


“ _Guess these work the same as the scrolls?”_  
“Would make sense.”  
  


It took a few tries before they figured out that they both had to touch the runes at the same time to unlock them, but once they did the soft leather unwrapped to reveal a pair of cuffs, about 5 centimetres wide and a pair of braided leather bracelets with a trinity knot charm acting as a clasp.  
  


“ _I think it's time to read the instructions manual.”_  
“I hate reading manuals...”  
 _“Of course you do.”_  
  


Despite Tony's groans and complaints they quickly unsealed the final scroll and started reading, the first section explaining the trinity knot bracelets, including its history and cultural significance.  
Most Earth cultures and religions incorporated some variation of a triad; Priest Warrior Commoner, Birth Life Death, Spirit Mind Body, Father Son Holy Ghost, Earth Heaven Hell, Creator Sustainer Destroyer, Maiden Mother Crone, Earth Sea Sky.  
The same thing could be seen among all the Nine, but Loki explained that the ones he had made for them were focused on one of the aspects, _Past Present Future_ , destiny, fate, the Norns, a charm meant to help them find the correct path to their goals.  
Loki did continue to explain that it wasn't actually connected to the Norns though, instead it was imbued with magic that promoted calm, rational thinking, it also carried protection against methods, both magical and mundane, of making someone act rashly.  
  


_-The enchantment will help maintain mental clarity, mostly by a calming effect that helps resist stressors and keep things like frustration from clouding your minds, something that might come in handy when dealing with the Captain and his sycophants.-_   
  


“No kidding...”  
  


_-There's also an enchantment that will keep others from noticing that you are wearing them, it turns the eye, the attention, away from it, keeps people from remembering it, but cameras will still record it, and it won't affect those watching the recordings.-_   
  


“ _I wonder if something like that could be applied to other equipment.”_  
“Dreaming of knives people won't notice even if they see them?”  
 _“Of course.”_  
  


Yasha flashed a bright smile, then turned serious.  
  


“ _If it does what it sounds like it could be very useful for making things like body armour less noticeable...”_  
“Yasha, you're hedging.”  
“...”  
“You're thinking about asking if it can be applied to your arm, aren't you?”  
 _“It could help keep people from noticing and becoming suspicious.”_  
  


Tony just sighed and agreed they'd ask Loki about it before moving on to the cuffs that would apparently allow them to share dreams once activated.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·Raising Questions·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Boss, there has been a last minute change for the meeting.”  
  


Friday spoke up just as the Quinjet initiated the landing sequence at the Avengers Compound.  
  


“Now?! Are they fucking kidding?”  
“Doesn't look like it.”  
“What have they changed?”  
“Rogers, Barton and Lang are on assignment, leaving only Romanoff and Wilson to attend the meeting on behalf of their team.”  
 _“That's actually smart, so probably the Widow's work.”_  
“Yeah, wouldn't look good to have Rogers raving and ranting about me being behind the bounty in front of the Interpol representative.”  
“Wilson has training in dealing with PTSD and other issues common in veterans and prisoners of war which makes him a good choice for negotiating against the bounty.”  
 _“And the Widow has insight in the type of conditioning used to create me.”_  
  


Tony just nodded in agreement with Friday's and Yasha's comments on the two Rogues that would be attending while hurrying inside.  
  


“Ah, Sweet Caroline.”  
“Dr Stark, Blade.”  
  


As always Dr Guidry greeted Tony with a bit of a glare before offering Yasha a slight nod that was returned in kind, she didn't seem to actually mind Tony's antics though, it was more of a fond exasperation, and her relationship with Yasha was mostly a sense of mutual respect.  
Her experience as a profiler had Yasha triggering all kinds of bells when they first met, she could clearly tell that he was far more dangerous than what his listed enhancements suggested, and she could tell that there was something abnormal about his psychology.  
Suspicion and concern had quickly given way for a somewhat reluctant respect though, and the fact that she had accurately read Yasha, and not panicked, had earned her a sliver of respect in return, something that was slowly building.  
Yasha was convinced that most of her respect for him came from the fact that he was usually able to corral Tony into behaving reasonably well.  
  


The moment they entered the conference room Henderson started glaring at Yasha, clearly not happy about him being there, Romanoff and Wilson didn't look too happy either, but they didn't seem like they were about to object.  
  


“Stark, this meeting will include both confidential and classified information, your goon will have to wait outside.”  
“Blade is a vetted Accords signer with a solid background in personal security, who just happens to have higher security clearance than you do _Jacky_ , so cut the crap.”  
  


Tony was not in the mood to deal with Henderson and his posturing, and it didn't seem like any of the others were either as they were quickly called to order by the representative for the Accord Council.  
  


“Alright, time out.”  
  


Tony had spent about 15 minutes listening to Romanoff and Wilson explaining why the bounty was a bad idea before his patience ran out.  
  


“As intriguing as this probably is supposed to be, I don't see what it has to do with me, Iron Man, Stark Industries or Team Phantom.”  
“Tony...”  
  


Romanoff opened her play with a mask of vulnerability and soft tones, trying to placate him while hinting at needing him.  
  


“I just don't see why I'm here.”  
  


He could tell that he wasn't the only one asking that particular question.  
When Wilson started talking about how they had been able to find Bucky once before using Tony's tech and resources Tony quickly realized two things, Wilson had no idea about HYDRA using the Winter Soldier to kill his parents, and Romanoff did.  
  


“I'm going to stop you right there Wilson.”  
  


Tony pulls out the mask he uses when dealing with hostile negotiations, confidence and a sharp edge of authority.  
  


“Rogers used my resources without my consent, without informing me who he was looking for, or even that he was looking for someone, claiming to be hunting leftover HYDRA.”  
  


The flicker of embarrassment and shame told Tony that Wilson had been aware of that part of the deception, which left him curious about what Rogers' excuse had been.  
  


“And we all know how well bringing him in went that time, and Zemo wasn't even HYDRA.”  
  


Tony turned to the Interpol representative and his assistant before anyone had a chance to say anything else.  
  


“Frankly, I rather see him out there killing off HYDRA than bringing in. At least out there he stands a chance at staying ahead of 'em. If he's brought in it'll be like shooting fish in a barrel.”  
  


As expected the man bristled at the implication of the words, but most of Tony's attention was on Romanoff to see how she reacted and he noted that she actually paled for a moment before regaining control.  
  


“Interpol is not HYDRA!”  
“Neither were SHIELD, until they were.”  
  


The young assistant has the decency to look contrite, but the representative sucks in a breath, preparing to argue, Tony however is not about to let him.  
  


“Can you say with 100 percent certainty that there are no HYDRA agents hidden away in Interpol or any of the agencies that would have access to a prisoner like the Winter Soldier? And no way for one to get in?”  
  


The representative closes his mouth with an audible click and settles back to glare at Tony.  
  


“I have seen the video, and the man has a point, there are ways to get answers without risking HYDRA getting their claws back into him, a POW who has been tortured and abused for 70 years. The amount of information we could get from him if we can build at least some rapport could be vital to taking HYDRA down.”  
  


Tony resists the urge to smile when he sees the way the tension in the representatives' shoulders breaks, telling him he has won the battle.  
  


“Fine, we'll write up some questions and put them out there. And if we get the answers we need we'll see about recalling the bounty, at least for the time being.”  
  


The meeting quickly comes to an end after that, and Tony is more than happy to get the hell out of there, Romanoff's constant looks setting him on edge.  
He finds himself unable to relax until they are back at the tower, back in their safe haven beneath it.  
  


“ _She knew.”_  
“Yeah, suspected as much, she probably found out about it at the same time Rogers did.”  
 _“And he didn't know, doesn't know.”_  
“Guess _Captain Righteous_ has a real knack for keeping things from the team when it suits him.”  
  


Tony tried, but he couldn't keep the bitterness from his voice, but knowing he wasn't the only supposed friend and teammate Rogers had kept in the dark left him feeling somewhat vindicated.  
  


“He always had a rather fickle relationship with the truth, and secrets, even before the serum.”  
“I guess.”  
  


Yasha tried to distract Tony from the uncomfortable mood by trailing kisses along his neck, trying to entice him into more pleasurable pursuits, but for once it didn't seem to have any effect, at least not on Tony..  
  


“I think it's time we bring Rhodey and Pep up to speed.”  
  


Yasha couldn't help the groan that escaped as Tony got up and started pacing, sure he could easily push Tony into submitting and letting him have his way if he was a bit forceful about it, but it didn't feel right to use what he knew about Tony's _kinks_ like that.  
This was far too serious of a matter to push aside, so Yasha took a steadying breath and forced his growing erection down, and made a silent promise, or maybe threat, that he would make up for the loss once they were done talking.


	19. Meeting the Family

.·:*¨¨*:· Meeting the Family·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“I know you'd rather not, but I think it's time, they could be really useful here. Rhodey will know what kind of answers they'll go for, and Pep is really good at answering trick questions without actually giving an answer.”  
 _“I know.”_  
“Think you'll still be able to resist the conditioning?”  
 _“It's not the conditioning this time. It registers you as a Handler, Rhodes registers as a support unit, and occasionally, field commander.”_  
“And Pep?”  
  


There was a moment of silence before Yasha answered.  
  


“ _A supervisor or intel officer, and sometimes as medical staff when she's fretting over you being reckless.”_  
“You really don't like Pep much, do you?”  
 _“She's a very capable woman...”_  
“I can hear the but you know.”  
 _“I know. It's not that I dislike her, I just have a hard time accepting the way she tried to change you, tried to make you give up part of who you are.”  
_ “That was a bit of a mess...”  
 _“I think the way_ _ **they**_ _burned away the parts they didn't like makes it harder for me to come to terms with it.”  
_ “Makes sense. Gotta ask, with that in mind, are you okay with bringing her in on this?”  
 _“Yeah, can't say I like it, but it's tactically sound.”_  
  


Tony just sighed at that before asking Friday to open a new file to go through what parts they should tell Rhodey and Pepper.  
  


“ _Nothing about Loki, not without talking to him about it first.”_  
“Absolutely. And no mission details or details about the conditioning with Pep, Rhodey can get those later in private.”  
 _“No gore in front of the lady, check.”_  
“Don't let her catch you saying something like that, she'll eviscerate you.”  
  


The comment pulled a smile from Yasha, he had seen the damage the woman could, would, do when underestimated or worse, talked down to, verbally ripping powerful businessmen apart while smiling sweetly.  
  


“ _I'm sure she will. The Red Room would wish they had produced a Widow as vicious as her.”_  
  


Tony's laughter was somewhat startled, but the accompanying smile quickly brightened.  
  


“Now that's a terrifying thought.”  
  


The mood remains on a brighter note as they keep working, carefully going through how much to tell and by dinner they have a plan in place.  
  


“Alright, let's set up a meeting. Fri, can you check if Pep and Platypus are available this weekend?”  
“Of course Boss. What would you like me to tell them?”  
“Tell them it's super important, but not life or death.”  
“Will do Boss.”  
“Oh, and tell 'em it will probably take a while so it would be best if they can spend the weekend here.”  
“Alright.”  
  


Turning back to face Yasha Tony found himself caught in a predatory gaze, burning with hunger, and a smile that had him licking his lips and swallowing hard  
  


“Oh fuck...”  
  


The smile turned downright wicked, then Yasha pounced and stole Tony's breath away with a searing kiss, but he quickly pulled back, slipping back into a submissive pose, offering Tony to take the lead.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Meeting the Family·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Tony was pacing the penthouse floor and the nervous energy was setting Yasha on edge.  
  


“ _Sit down.”_  
  


The half growl, half snap makes Tony pause, then offer a sheepish smile.  
  


“Sorry...”  
 _“They're your friends, stop worrying, makes me itch.”_  
“...”  
 _“Sit down, have a drink, but stay away from the god damned coffee. They're almost at the tower.”_  
  


The frustrated order makes Tony laugh, and accept the large glass of fresh juice before sitting down.  
  


“Colonel Rhodes and Miss Potts have entered the lobby and will be up shortly.”  
“Thanks Fri.”  
  


Tony's greeting was as exuberant as always, but he quickly settled down to a serious note which had them both looking at him with concern.  
  


Damn, I still suck at this...”  
  


Tony huffs in frustration as he runs his hand through his hair.  
  


“I've got something big I need to tell you, and I need you to sit down, listen, and not kill me until I'm all done talking.”  
  


Rhodes and Pepper both sigh and sit down, used to dealing with Tony and his antics and he knows there's no point in trying to stall so he gives Yasha a subtle nod.  
  


“This introduction is probably long overdue.”  
  


With a more grand gesture he points toward Yasha who steps forward and removes his jacket, revealing the metal of the arm, and the way Rhodes' eyes sharpen is telling, he is already starting to suspect where things are going.  
Pepper gasps when Yasha removes the mask, but Rhodes just shakes his head.  
  


“Only you Tones, only you.”  
“Tony!”  
“Come on, you promised not to kill me until I'm done explaining.”  
  


Pepper seems caught somewhere between fear and anger while Rhodes seems to be mostly amused and slightly frustrated, though there is a very suspicious glint in his eyes as he studies Yasha.  
  


“You're the Winter Soldier, not Sergeant Barnes, right?”  
  


Yasha just nods and falls into parade rest, waiting for Tony to tell most of their story, they had already agreed he would only speak up if and when there were questions about his reasoning.  
  


“I'll get to that later, but we kinda need to start at the beginning here or stuff won't make sense.”  
  


Tony starts with the events leading up to the meeting at the Siberia bunker, and he tells them about the video, about Yasha's unwilling involvement in the murder of his parents.  
  


Yasha finds himself rather impressed with the very explicit, and inventive, methods of ruining Rogers that Pepper offers up when she finds out that Rogers' knew, and she definitely has a somewhat terrifying air about her, leaving him increasingly tempted to offer to train her.  
  


“So why did you decide to attack Rogers?”  
  


Yasha carefully explained his confusion and reasoning and he could tell that they were both confused, but he wasn't sure about what.  
  


“How come you have a Russian accent now? You didn't have one in that video.”  
  


Yasha just gave Tony a pleading look, silently asking him to explain, which he was more than happy to, though he didn't go into details, that would come later when they explained about BARF and getting rid of the triggers.  
  


“Well, that sucks.”  
“Most of the purpose with that video was to plant false assumptions.”  
“The lack of an accent, wearing the old arm, seemingly alone and without resources, scavenging whatever he can get from old HYDRA bases.”  
“Exactly.”  
  


Rhodes took another, more careful, look at Yasha's arm, his own talent as an engineer picking up on the obvious, and more subtle, differences.  
  


“This arm is slimmer, the silver one in the video, it's a sleeve.”  
“Mhm, uses the panelling from the old arm and some microcontrollers to make it move and sound like the old one.”  
“To make sure people don't look too closely at _Blade_ , or _Ghost_.”  
“Well, more like to make them have certain expectations about what to look for. Even if they do a full scan of the new arm it won't match the data from HYDRA about the old arm, we replaced the entire mooring structure. It was plain barbaric.”  
“Yeah, I've seen the footage from DC, and the whole mess after the bombing, the way he moved, that arm must have been heavy as hell.”  
  


Rhodes shot Yasha a somewhat apologetic and sympathetic glance.  
  


“It was, they had to anchor it to his spine and ribs with metal struts to keep it from tearing off, and it still tore up the tissue, only reason it worked at all was the serum healing the damage. Which also happens to be why Cap was able to fight at a somewhat even level with the Soldier.”  
  


Tony quickly explained how constantly healing the damage from the arm, and the wipes, reduced the speed and strength enhancing effects of the serum.  
  


“Yasha's serum is different, but his training and experience is far superior to Rogers', if the serum wasn't further suppressed by the constant healing those fights would have ended differently.”  
  


Rhodes nodded and drained his glass off water then fetched more ice and refilled it, something Yasha recognized as a stalling tactic, a seemingly innocuous action that gave him time to think, collect his thoughts, and pick his next action.  
  


“If you don't mind me asking, how different is your serum? I know the sample size sucks, but anything you've noticed?”  
“Well it obviously didn't make me grow almost a foot and gain some 150 pounds.”  
  


The comment made Rhodes snort and shake his head.  
  


“Now that would have been a sight, but would probably have been pretty inconvenient too.”  
“The basic formula is very similar from what we can tell, bringing the subject to peak physical condition, which was a big leap in Rogers' case, while Sergeant Barnes was an excellent specimen to begin with, no real flaws, just the usual war time prisoner ailments.”  
  


Rhodes looked a bit surprised when Friday spoke up and opened projections showing the data they had collected on the known variations of the serum.  
  


“As far as we can tell the main difference comes from the type of radiation used to activate the serum. Erskine used Vita Rays on Rogers, HYDRA used energy from the Tesseract on Barnes, and Banner used Gamma radiation to create the Hulk, and Banner's blood, with gamma-activated serum was used to activate the serum in Blonsky.”  
“Guess that makes sense.”  
“There's no information on what Schmidt used, if he even used anything, which could be the cause of his disfiguration. The later version created by Howard Stark appears to have been derived from Rogers' active form, requiring no further exposure.”  
“Still can't believe that asshole made more of that stuff...”  
  


It had been tough for Tony to talk about that part of the story, but the way Rhodey and Pepper reacted to it had been a balm to his wounded spirit.  
  


“He was always obsessed with finding Rogers, not such a big leap to trying to recreate him.”  
“I'm sorry Tones...”  
  


Rhodes had been around during Tony's MIT days, and had seen a lot of the damage done by Howard's dismissive, and frequently outright abusive ways, the constant belittling and comparison to an impossible ideal.  
Didn't help that the man was a mean drunk who tended to get physical in his abuse when drunk, which was more or less all the time toward the end with his alcoholism growing worse over the years.  
  


“Howard was a fucked up asshole, and his work with the serum got him and mom killed cause he was a fucking idiot transporting it with her in the car.”  
“My mission was to retrieve the serum, and eliminate any witnesses.”  
  


If Rhodes was bothered by Yasha's detached report he didn't show it, but he did turn his attention back to him.  
  


“It was used to create the soldiers Zemo killed in Siberia, right?”  
“Yes.”  
“How come, if they had five more Winter Soldiers, they only used you?”  
“Howard's serum was flawed, it left the subjects in a hyper aggressive, instinct driven state. They kept attacking and killing their trainers, medical and research staff, and the handlers.”  
“They couldn't control them so they put them on ice while figuring out a solution.”  
“Yes, they never fully understood how or why the conditioning had worked on me, several other attempts had failed, and they didn't want to risk that on their loyal strike team.”  
“Yeah, makes sense, especially if they couldn't replicate the formula.”  
“The Russians had their own version, but it was nowhere near as effective as the ones derived from Erskine's work, and they were unable to mass produce it. What little they were able to make was used by the Red Room to enhance their top candidates, their little widows.”  
“So Black Widow is enhanced?”  
“She is, but the effects are relatively minor, it allows her to operate at a level equivalent to that of a top athlete. Her recovery rate and resilience to disease and chemical agents is slightly above baseline. I believe they also have slowed ageing.”  
“She's not registered as enhanced under the Accords though...”  
“It is possible she doesn't know, the Red Room only told the spiders what they needed to know, nothing more. And most of the records have been destroyed, or lost.”  
“Super Soldier Serum, the gift that just keeps giving...”  
  


Rhodey's quip earned him a snort from Tony, and a dark chuckle from Yasha that had him half wanting to run and hide, in terms of being terrifying, the smile on Yasha's face had solid competition in Pepper's scowl, fortunately it wasn't aimed at any of them.  
  


“ _Fri, could you bring up the full comparison data please?”_  
“Right away Yasha.”  
  


The fact that Yasha slipped back into Russian was telling of how uncomfortable he was with going through those details so while the screens came to life and Friday began explaining the data shown Tony took some time to try to calm Yasha down.  
  


“Since we have no data on the formula Howard derived from Rogers' blood, only the result of its use we have opted not to include it here. The one used by the Red Room has some significant differences as well, so we have excluded that as well.”  
  


Friday showed the data they had collected from the various bases they had raided.  
  


“One significant difference noticed in Sergeant Barnes' exposure is the lack of a transformative episode.”  
“He has gotten quite a bit bigger, even if he's not taller...”  
“The records from that time are spotty, but there is no indication of a transformation. He builds muscle faster than a baseline human, and the musculature is denser and provides far more power but for all intents and purposes the increase in muscle mass is naturally obtained.”  
“Someone definitely didn't skip leg day...”  
  


This time Pepper snorts at the quip and Tony can see a slight dusting of a blush which makes him smile, she had always been a legs and ass person, and Yasha's thighs were deadly in more than one way.  
  


“In Schmidt we have the extensive disfiguration that turned him into Red Skull, then we have Rogers' massive growth, and in Banner and Blonsky we have the emergence of the Hulk and the Abomination. However in Sergeant Barnes there was no noticeable change after his return from being captured at Azzano.”  
“I don't think the serum fully activated until I fell, possibly triggered by the otherwise fatal injuries.”  
  


Those words instantly had Rhodes' attention back on Yasha.  
  


“Did they ever test you for the X-gene? Those mutations often activate from traumatic events.”  
“They did extensive genetic work over the years trying to figure out why the serum worked on me and not other subjects, including X-gene, Terrigen compatibility, any unusual genetic markers but all tests came back negative.”  
  


Rhodes just nodded and motioned for Friday to continue her presentation.  
  


“We have been comparing Yasha to Rogers and we have found that while Rogers is stronger, Yasha is faster and more agile. Yasha's senses are also significantly stronger than Rogers' which are only moderately enhanced beyond baseline.”  
  


After the pardon of the Rogues Tony had carefully seeded the idea to properly test the full range of Rogers' abilities, something that had been surprisingly easy to get him to agree to, a few hints that the overall ability of the team determined the amount of missions was all it took.  
Rogers seemed almost eager to prove his worth, his superiority, and Tony suspected he was hoping to gain the freedom to pick his own targets in order to continue his hunt for _Bucky_ with the Accords unwittingly backing him.  
  


“Yasha also has extensive training in most known combat techniques, new techniques are retained with very little training and the arm levels the playing field in terms of raw power.”  
  


Rhodes' slack jawed expression when Friday listed the various combat styles that Yasha had been trained in made Tony smile, and look forward to seeing what the expression would be when things like weapons, vehicles and languages were added.  
  


“Testing indicates that Yasha's mental abilities are significantly higher in all areas, including near perfect recall for information, both verbal and visual. It's unclear however if his intelligence has been augmented beyond the effects of improved synaptic performance as his service records indicate he possessed these traits prior to being exposed to the serum.”  
“It takes some serious smarts to become a good sniper, even now with computers and tech to help calculate shots.”  
“His ability to learn new skills was highly valued as it allowed him to master any weapons, vehicles or skills needed to complete the missions, including things like languages, and information needed to get close to various experts under the guise of being a fellow researcher.”  
“That's a lot of languages...”  
  


Rhodes was just staring, and Pepper's tone was equal parts impressed, and jealous.  
  


“I can also accurately mimic a wide range of regional dialects and mix most of those languages into accurate accents.”  
“Must have been very useful as a spy and assassin.”  
“Very.”  
  


Yasha ignored the slight edge in her words, and the flash of orange in her eyes, suspicion, and anger, were expected reactions.  
  


The serum and Yasha's training weren't the only sidetracks and by the time they were done talking it was late, and Pepper, who was accustomed to regular hours, was half asleep.  
  


“Pep, why don't you take one of the guest rooms and go get some sleep and we'll continue in the morning?”  
“I think I will...”  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Meeting the Family·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Once they had said their good nights and Pepper had left Rhodes turned to Tony and Yasha with a sharp look.  
  


“So, how about you two quit tiptoeing and give me those gritty details you don't want Pep to know about.”  
“That was the plan.”  
  


By the time they were done recounting the details of the conditioning, torture, and some of the things HYDRA had forced Yasha to do, to endure, Rhodes was pale, shaking, and had lost the contents of his stomach into the nearby garbage bin.  
  


“Shit... How are you even functioning?”  
“The wipes made me forget, and when the memories resurface they are mostly disassociated. Even the ones recovered and integrated using BARF. I remember, but there is no emotional response.”  
“Like it happened to someone else?”  
“Yes. And apart from my memories of being Bucky I don't think there was much of an emotional response when they initially formed either, they burned that out of me when I was created.”  
“You seem to have a pretty normal emotional range now though, reserved and a few sharp edges, but normal.”  
“As Yasha I do...”  
“But you're not always Yasha...”  
No, I'm not.”  
  


The fact that Rhodes had a sharp mind, and was used to following along with Tony's ramblings, made it a lot easier to explain things and he had no problems keeping up as they explained how Yasha could slip between the compliant, emotionless Asset state, his baseline, and the accelerated combat state.  
  


“So the triggers force you into that compliant state, how much of a risk is it that anyone would use it against you?”  
“We neutralized the triggers, anyone trying to use them will just find themselves facing a pissed off, overprotective, Winter Soldier.”  
  


They explained about altering the triggers to trigger an override mission to protect Tony, but they didn't mention that Tony could still trigger the original compliant state, it was too personal, too private somehow.  
  


When Yasha headed to the kitchen to collect some snacks Rhodes leaned closer to Tony and gave him a look that left him wanting to squirm.  
  


“Tones, are you sleeping with the Winter Soldier?”  
“...“  
“Oh fuck, you are, aren't you?”  
”Yeah, I am...”  
“Only you...”  
“...”  
“Do you love him?”  
“Yeah...”  
  


Tony hadn't been sure how Rhodes would react to that titbit, but he just rolled his eyes and offered up a crooked, knowing, smile.  
  


“Figures, he's just your type.”  
“Oh, you don't know the half of it.”  
“And I don't want to know the rest of it!”  
  


Tony hesitated for a moment, they had discussed telling Rhodes about the sexual abuse and rape, but he didn't want to make the choice for Yasha, so with a sight he settled for a smaller part of the truth.  
  


“It's actually pretty complicated...”  
  


The shift in Tony's attitude instantly had Rhodes somewhat concerned, but before he could ask about it a bowl was placed next to him, almost making him jump, god damned assassins and their soundless movements.  
  


“HYDRA didn't hesitate to use sex as a torture method.”  
  


It took a lot longer than it should for Rhodes to grasp the implications of Yasha's words, just staring at him, blinking with an empty expression, then he paled, and almost threw up again.  
  


“I can see why you waited until after Pep left to tell me all of this shit...”  
“Sorry, but we figured it might be best if at least one of you knew the full scope of what HYDRA put him through.”  
“Yeah, I get that. Still makes me fucking sick, and you better be paying for my extra therapy to deal with this shit.”  
“Consider it done.”  
“I find killing HYDRA scum to be a cheap and effective therapy.”  
  


After another rather impressive owl impression at Yasha's comment Rhodes' expression sharpened again.  
  


“Those HYDRA bases that were wiped out, massacred, that was you guys, wasn't it?”  
“Most likely. We have taken down a bunch of them off the books, and Yasha here can get a bit carried away sometimes when taking out the trash.”  
“Tones, why do I get a feeling you enjoyed that just as much as Yasha did?”  
  


Tony froze for a moment, then he sighed and offered a crooked smile.  
  


“You've always suspected the truth.”  
“I guess. Kidnappers who no one could ever find, that creep who stalked Pep that just upped and vanished.”  
“And a bunch of others too, but you don't really want to know.”  
“You're right, I don't, plausible deniability and all that.”  
“With Yasha, going after HYDRA, I don't need to hold back...”  
“It's why you were so rattled after Stane, Vanko and Killian, wasn't it? You didn't get to deliver the killing blow yourself.”  
“...”  
“Honestly, I can't really blame you, they went after what you care about. Still makes me a bit uncomfortable though...”  
“Figured you deserve to know what you're getting yourself into...”  
“Like you said, I always suspected you had more of a dark side than you let on. Guess I always knew you were one bad break away from becoming one hell of a villain.”  
“...”  
“And still, you never did. You always made your way back to us, though you always did make a better antihero than a hero.”  
“I never claimed to be a hero, pretty sure I told everyone I wasn't...”  
“True.”  
  


When Rhodes yawned for the third time in a matter of minutes Friday interrupted them and suggested they get some sleep and continue in the morning, which was quickly agreed upon.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Meeting the Family·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


After sharing a 10-man breakfast they settled back into the comfortable sitting area to continue the conversation, and hopefully, make some plans.  
  


“As you've no doubt guessed already, I could use your help making sure this whole bounty shit blows over, and use it to get Yasha a pardon, unlike Rogers' and the goon-squad he actually deserves one.”  
“You're absolutely certifiable.”  
“Aww Pep, no need to be mean.”  
“Even if he gets a pardon they will hang you when it comes out he's been with you since Siberia. And it will come out sooner or later, especially since you have him registered as your teammate under the Accords.”  
“I know Pep, but trust me, there is a method to my madness.”  
“Do enlighten us.”  
  


Pepper was levelling him with a wilting glare that made Tony want to squirm and hide.  
  


“This whole bounty mess was not part of the plan, but the plan was to get the knowledge about the Winter Soldier out there, show the world the suffering that turned Sergeant Barnes into the Winter Soldier, show them the means used to keep him under control.”  
“Build public support for the war hero turned POW and tortured for decades.”  
“Exactly. Then use that public opinion to sway politicians into giving him a full pardon.”  
“But why sign him into the Accords like this?”  
“A show of intent. Show the world that even while running from HYDRA I still want to work within the rules as much as possible.”  
  


Pepper instantly turned her half scowl on Yasha, then after a few moments it softened into understanding.  
  


“I think I can work with that. Especially considering how Rogers has been behaving about the Accords, even after signing he's been making it pretty clear he doesn't like them.”  
 _“He's always been an idiot, he just used to be a yapping little ankle biter, annoying but not a threat.”_  
  


It took a moment before Yasha realized he'd been speaking Russian again, but before he could say it again, in English, Friday put a translation on the table screen, and moments later a very unladylike snort was heard from Pepper.  
  


“You consider Rogers a threat now?”  
  


Rhodes' tone came across sharp and cold and Tony could see the rapid slip in Yasha's state, dropping into mission mode as he gave Tony a glance.  
With a sigh Tony moved to position himself between Yasha and the others, unsure how he would react to Rhodes and Pepper once fully into the Asset mindset.  
  


“I need you guys to sit back and don't make any sudden moves or noises, he's a bit overprotective on a good day, and when this happens that gets dialed up way past 11. Makes him a bit twitchy and paranoid so he might consider you a threat and lash out.”  
  


Fortunately both of them realised the potential danger and quickly settled back, but wisely without looking like they were trying to get away either which left Tony with a warm sense of pride.  
  


“Asset!”  
  


Yasha instantly dropped to his knees and placed his hands behind his back.  
  


“ _Ready to comply.”_  
  


The interaction had Rhodes narrowing his eyes questioningly at Tony, only to look away and put his hands up in a show of surrender as Yasha shifted his weight and nailed him with a full on murder glare.  
Tony didn't blame him for that reaction, even kneeling on the floor, wearing normal clothes and no visible weapons, that tension, that focus, especially with the cold eyes of the Asset, was terrifying, it promised death to any target, any threat.  
  


“I'll explain later, just stay down, listen, and don't give him any reason to think you might be a threat.”  
“...”  
“Full report and risk assessment, subject, Accords Team Epsilon 4.”  
 _“Complying.”_  
“Fri, keep the translation coming please.”  
“Of course Boss.”  
  


Yasha smoothly rose to his feet and sipped into parade rest before starting his report.  
  


“ _Accords Team Epsilon 4, codename Avengers. Also known as the Rogues, Rogue Avengers or Exvengers. Team leader and Field commander, Steven Grant Rogers, codename Captain America. Serum enhanced soldier, short to medium range ground combat. Primary hand to hand combat, secondary small arms .”_  
  


The tone was calm and slightly detached, but Tony could tell that Yasha was starting to return to his baseline.  
  


“ _Second in command Sam Thomas Wilson, codename Falcon. Baseline human, Aerial combat and surveillance. Primary equipment EXO-7 Falcon, Redwing drone and specialized goggles. Primary weapon, wrist mounted machine pistols.”_  
  


The mention of Redwing reminded Tony that he needed to have a look at the AI code of the drone to remove any traces of the self learning code he had originally coded into it, and subsequently disabled.  
  


“ _Natalia Alianovna Romanoff, codename Black Widow. Serum enhanced spy and assassin, infiltration, interrogation, information gathering, short to medium range ground combat. Primary hand to hand combat using shock weapons, secondary small arms.”_  
  


Tony noted once again that Yasha always referred to her as Natalia, never Natasha, clearly still conflicted about their shared past.  
  


“ _Clinton Francis Barton, codename Hawkeye. Baseline human, sniper, archer, assassin, short to medium range ground combat, expert acrobat. Primary weapon, recurve bow, specialized quiver and trick arrows, secondary hand to hand combat and blades.”_  
  


The mention of Barton's arrows made Tony sneer, there were still near weekly requests for new arrows being relayed to the Accords liaison at Stark Industries, they were all rejected without even being looked at, but it still pissed him off.  
  


“ _Scott Edward Harris Lang, codename Ant-Man. Baseline human, infiltration, information gathering, master thief, short range hand to hand combat. Primary equipment, Ant-Man Suit, Pym Particles and EMP Communication Device allowing communication with ants.”_  
  


Once Yasha was done with a basic listing of the Rogues he moved on to background information and psychiatric profiles, including an in-depth profile on Rogers before moving on to suspected causes.  
  


“ _Barton's highly aberrant behaviour following the battle of Sokovia may be the result of mental manipulation perpetrated by the deceased Wanda Maximoff, codename Scarlet Witch. Means to confirm or refute the theory are currently unavailable.”_  
“Could that be the case with Rogers and the others too?”  
  


Rhodes keeps his voice low and even, and Yasha doesn't show any obvious reaction, instead he calmly answers the question.  
  


“ _The possibility is under consideration, there is a distinct acceleration of his behaviour, but not as extreme as in Barton's case.”_  
“Rogers' behaviour is pretty extreme though.”  
“It is. However despite being accelerated it does follow pre-existing patterns and projections, indicating it to be a natural development. An ongoing pattern where all his actions have been left unchallenged and without repercussions has exacerbated pre-existing personality traits and tendencies.”  
  


Friday displayed the assessment she had done on Rogers in regards to his belief that Tony was behind the Accords and the bounty.  
  


“Over time Rogers has grown increasingly delusional, believing he is always right, that his actions are always the right thing to do, the best way, any collateral unavoidable, an unfortunate but necessary sacrifice. He's also showing increasingly paranoid tendencies, going from seeing anyone disagreeing as being uninformed or misguided to believing they must be doing so out of malice, or because they are the enemy, out to get him.”  
“Let me guess, SHIELD never had him do any therapy or proper psych evaluations?”  
“Only some very basic evaluations to determine threat level, suicide and flight risk.”  
“And what about the Accords? Shouldn't they have done a full evaluation of Rogers when assigning him as a team leader and field commander?”  
“They should have, but in the interest of pushing their reconciliation and acceptance narrative into the spotlight the Council bypassed all the normal requirements and simply registered Rogers and the Rogues as was without question.”  
“Feeding into his delusions...”  
  


Rhodes sighed deeply and leaned back as he tried to wrap his mind around the mass of information, all while Pepper was furiously typing away on her tab.  
  


“Guess I might as well get that explanation over with while we're at it.”  
  


The only reply Tony got was a slight hand wave telling him to continue so he explained about how Yasha sometimes needed the grounding effect of being ordered to do something, explained about how being chosen as Yasha's handler had a deeper, darker, meaning.  
  


“It was tough as hell at first, even after giving him mission parameters to cover basic self care I still had to order him to eat and sleep properly 'cause he kept insisting that he was _Functioning within acceptable mission parameters.”  
_ “Meaning?”  
“Pretty much able to stay on his feet and fight without passing out from hunger, sleep deprivation or pain.”  
“Which with the serum would mean long dead for a baseline human...”  
“Mhm...”  
  


Pepper's soft gasp did not match the absolute horror in her expression when Yasha explained about his issues with food, how they had initially fed him what was essentially smoothies made from animal feed, then progressed to intravenous nutrition and protein drinks.  
  


“ _I was rarely given actual food. Solid food doesn't work well with cryostasis and it was easier to just give me IV nutrients and liquid supplements for fat and protein, and to keep the digestive system working. Some handlers also enjoyed starving me, then offering food and punishing me when I tried to eat.”_  
  


The strangled sob quickly had Yasha apologizing to Pepper and reassuring her that he was getting better.  
  


“He loves spicy food, especially those crazy hot Indian and Thai dishes, stuff that'll make your mouth blister.”  
 _“I like the feeling, chases away the chill...”_  
“Tony Stark, you better be feeding that man all the spicy foods he wants!”  
  


Pepper's outburst told him that she was definitely well on her way to joining the _Save Yasha_ cause.  
  


“Of course I am. Why do you think I converted one of the old Avengers floors to a state of the art indoor greenhouse?”  
  


The look of utter confusion on Pepper's face had both Tony and Rhodes laughing, while Yasha took pity on her and explained that they were growing several of the worlds hottest peppers so that he would always have fresh, home grown, peppers to spice up any dish with.  
  


“Tony also took me to visit a small company that makes hot sauce to learn how to make our own.”  
  


The offered piece of information seemed so completely out of place it made Pepper blink, then start laughing as well.  
  


“Perhaps it's time for a break?”  
  


Friday waits until the laughter has settled down slightly before pointing out that they had been at it for a few hours, and that perhaps their laughing fit was a good indicator that they needed a break.  
  


“Friday's right, we need a break. This is all way too much to take in all at once like this, we need time to sort it all through. We can't afford to rush things, but we should start drawing up some outlines, try to sort our options at least.”  
  


Pepper, ever the epitome of organisation grabs the rudder and starts steering them all toward some semblance of order before focusing on Tony with a somewhat conflicted look.  
  


“I won't lie, I'm still not entirely sure I'm onboard with all this, it's all a mess. But I promise that as long as I don't have reason to believe that Yasha is an immediate threat to you I won't tell anybody about any of this.”  
“Thank you Pep.”  
  


She turned to Yasha and nailed him with her best CEO glare, daring him to challenge her words and after a few moments he dips his head slightly while keeping his eyes locked with hers, a gesture of acceptance, and respect.  
Then a moment later his expression slips into his coldest murder glare, his eyes pale and cold, ice and steel, before morphing into something far more sinister as blue fire seeps back into his eyes, leaving them glowing bright with feral possessiveness.  
To her credit Pepper manages to return the curt nod without stumbling at the less than subtle claim, and threat.  
  


Yasha wasn't about to just forgive and forget, but the fact that she was being upfront about her thoughts and intentions, as well as the fiercely protective streak she was displaying earned her some leeway and the chance of proving herself.  
She was facing him down despite knowing what he was capable of, despite the fear he could see in the well hidden tension of her body, hear in her pulse and breathing, smell under her subtle perfume, and that earned her another measure of respect.  
  


“That's seriously freaky.”  
  


Rhodes was staring at Yasha with an expression caught somewhere between awed curiosity and mild panic.  
  


“How does that even work? What makes 'em glow?”  
 _“Fri, care to do the honours?”_  
“Of course Yasha.”  
  


The screens instantly come to life and start displaying some of the medical data they have gathered on Yasha's various reactions.  
  


“We don't really know much about how it actually works other than that the serum seems to carry traces of the radiation that activated it. The variation in intensity in the eyes appears to be linked to a modified fight or flight response. In the compliant state the serum withdraws and focuses on internal functions, accelerating healing, stimulating the pituitary gland to produce increased levels of endorphins while suppressing adrenal function and acting as cortisol and adrenaline antagonists.”  
“Why?”  
 _“It's at least partially a conditioned response, made me able to take a beating without any outward reaction since that just made the beatings worse.”_  
  


There was a moment of silence while Friday translated, then some rather angry cursing.  
  


“Fucking bastards!”  
“Horrible...”  
  


Friday waited patiently for Rhodes and Pepper to calm down again before continuing.  
  


“This response leaves the eyes a pale grey colour. Under what would be considered baseline conditions the serum balanced and mostly inactive, leaving his eyes a pale steel blue.”  
“And the glowy bits?”  
“When entering what we have taken to call combat mode the serum goes into an active phase focused on enhancing physical performance as well as sight, smell and hearing, this causes his eyes to gain an electric blue colour which emits light. The more intense the fight reaction the stronger the colour and glow becomes.”  
 _“This is mostly an automatic reaction, same as the normal fight or flight response. But just like how I can intentionally drop into the compliant state I can also force myself into the combat state, and as long as there's no actual fighting I can drop right back out of it.”_  
“Making your eyes glow for dramatic effect.”  
 _“Has its uses.”_  
“It definitely does.”  
  


Pepper offers a smile that is just a touch too sweet to be anything other than threatening and for a brief moment her eyes flashes with the familiar fiery orange of the original extremis strain.  
  


“ _Impressive Miss Potts. You could make an excellent Widow."  
_ "I would hardly call that a compliment."  
 _"Natalia may have been an excellent Widow once, but she has lost her touch. Growing fickle where she should be flexible, deceitful over subtle, her confidence turned to arrogance."_  
"I will have to take your word for it then."  
  


During Yasha and Pepper's little mental sparring session Rhodes gave Tony a somewhat wide-eyed look before miming _Scary_ at him, earning him a rather exaggerated nod of terrified agreement in return before they both started laughing again.  
  


"You should, Pep. Yasha did train a bunch of them, including Romanoff."  
“Now that's interesting.”  
“Damn man, you got around.”  
  


Rhodes was looking somewhat impressed, they had mentioned in passing that Yasha had met Romanoff at the Red Room, but no details about the circumstances, and Pepper had a calculating glint in her eyes that made it quite clear she wanted to pick Yasha's brain about the woman.  
  


 _"Natalia was the one to name me Yasha. I didn't remember who the girl in my memory was at the time Tony asked me what I wanted to be called, but it was a good memory. A snipped without cold, darkness, pain or death. Just a girl calling me Yasha and offering me a few wild strawberries."_  
“As good as it is to know you have some good memories too, this could be a problem.”  
 _“We know, I need to be mindful of how I move around her, especially if fighting or she might recognise me.”_  
  


As the group started chasing yet another detour Friday once again found herself wishing she had a body just so she could sigh and roll her eyes at them, but she pushed the process, thought, aside and ordered food to be delivered instead.  
Hopefully the distraction of eating would be enough to let her get them back on track, she was slightly concerned about the behaviour though as both Pepper and Rhodes were usually well organised and goal oriented.  
Prior experience as well as the material on psychology and trauma management told her that both of them were clearly overwhelmed by what they had learned, and were showing signs of mild shock.  
Filing the information away she added some extra desserts, focusing on items with dark chocolate, fruits and berries that were rich in flavonoids and polyphenols, then added some suitable wine as well, hopefully that would help reduce cortisol levels.  
Looking through her data she also selected a few suitable sound frequencies and began playing a selection from the meditation database on a low volume that wouldn't really be noticed by a baseline human but would still have a calming effect.  
Tony and Yasha both noticed of course, Yasha offering a slight nod at the nearest camera, and Tony brushing a sense of approval and pride against her code, telling her she had done the right thing.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Meeting the Family·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Excellent taste as always Friday.”  
  


Pepper set her glass down after taking a sip of the wine selected for the dessert and forced herself into the mask she had developed over the years as Tony's PA and the CEO of Stark Industries, allowing the familiarity of it to ground her.  
This entire mess was such a Tony thing to do, but over the years she had learned a lot about how he worked, how his many issues affected his actions, and this latest betrayal had only made matters worse, she prayed he was right to trust this _Yasha._  
She was still struggling to make sense of what they had told her, showed her, but for now she would give the man the benefit of the doubt, after all, Tony seemed to trust him without reservation despite everything.  
It helped of course that Tony had seemed healthier, happier, in the past two years than he had since Afghanistan.  
  


“Thank you Miss Potts.”  
  


Steeling herself with one last breath she pushed forward, time to try to get some answers out of Tony, get a proper idea of their goals, and what means they had for getting there.  
  


“Friday, could you start a new project file for me please?”  
“Right away Miss Potts.”  
  


An empty file came to life above the table as she turned to Tony.  
  


“Time to focus, I need to know where we are at now and what your immediate plans are.”  
“Alright, mission mode _Soldier_.”  
 _“Acknowledged.”_  
  


Pepper didn't miss that Friday neglected to translate Yasha's reply, but whatever it was it seemed to make both of them focus and she actually found herself somewhat impressed with the efficiency with which Yasha kept Tony that way.  
  


“We need a legal expert to look at some of this.”  
  


Pepper calmly notes that while SI has an excellent legal team it would be good to get someone from the outside, and someone with more experience in criminal law rather than business law.  
  


“I know, we already have a guy in mind.”  
“I trust you have had him properly vetted?”  
“Of course, he is uniquely suited for this case.”  
“But you won't tell me why, will you?”  
“No, I won't.”  
  


Tony had come across Matt Murdock during his work with the Accords as he was doing a lot of pro bono work for various enhanced individuals to help them understand and negotiate the terms and conditions for signing with the Accords.  
With Yasha and Friday helping it hadn't taken long to make the connection with the vigilante Daredevil, something that told them he was clearly aware that sometimes working within the system just wasn't enough, especially when dealing with things like HYDRA.  
Hopefully he would accept if the Winter Soldier reached out for him and asked to be represented by him.  
  


“We will definitely need a solid PR and media strategy.”  
“I've started on the media already, tossed Everhart a bone when she asked about my opinion on the bounty.”  
“What kind of bone?”  
  


Peppers gaze sharpened, Everhart was not one of her favourite people, and Tony was notoriously good at pissing off the media.”  
  


“I asked her how she would define and determine the agency of a weapon, and she's running hard with it.”  
“Sounds dangerous with HYDRA involved.”  
 _“It is, I asked Fri to keep an eye on her and try to keep her out of too much trouble.”_  
  


If Pepper was surprised by Yasha's comment she didn't show it.  
  


“We also have some very interesting snippets of information about a freelance reporter working out of San Francisco who likes to take down companies with unethical practises who appear to have acquired some interesting abilities that would let him investigate without too much risk.”  
  


Friday had found information on the vigilante called Venom while doing one of her usual sweeps of the internet on any information claiming to pertain to alien activity, and finding indications that someone had tried to scrub the information she investigated.  
It took quite a bit of work, but she was able to link the creature to the reporter Eddie Brock and the Life Foundation, further investigation revealing information claiming the creature to be a sapient alien parasite that needed a host body to survive.  
As far as she could tell though Venom appeared more symbiotic than parasitic, and granted the host a wide range of abilities, including advanced healing, increased strength, durability and speed as well as the ability to generate simple weapons.  
  


“Why baby girl, have you been holding out on me?”  
“Maybe a little...”  
 _“I do believe our little baby girl here is growing up.”_  
“Such an independent girl.”  
  


Tony mock sniffed with a brilliant smile.  
  


“Boss!”  
 _“And by the sound of it, learning how to blush.”_  
“Yasha!”  
 _“Yes?”_  
  


Yasha's teasing was rewarded with a huff that was aiming for irritated but sounded distinctly embarrassed.  
  


“ _Aw, don't be like that sweetheart.”_  
  


Yasha's teasing quips made Tony smile, it was a good sign that he was starting to become a bit more comfortable with Rhodes and Pepper knowing who he was, seeing his face, being close while he was mostly unarmed.  
With his serum enhanced physiology, training, and the raw power of the arm he was never truly unarmed, but Tony knew that with only a handful of hidden blades on him Yasha was no doubt feeling rather naked.  
Tony shook his head in amusement and continued the listing of their preliminary plants to Pepper while Yasha and Friday continued their playful banter, leaving Rhodes chuckling at them, and Pepper levelling Yasha with her most unimpressed CEO glare.  
  


“Yes дядюшка...”

Seeing Yasha tense for a moment as Friday addressed him using a Russian diminutive for uncle drew Tony's attention, a brief moment of concern flickering across his mind before Yasha relaxed and flashed a soft smile at the nearest camera.

“ _That's better.”  
_

The exchange had Tony grinning like a fool and damn near cooing at Yasha which of course drew Rhodes' attention, he may have some discipline, but he was still as curious as they got.

“Fri, what did you just call him?”

When Friday didn't answer Rhodes' question he raised a questioning eyebrow at Tony who was still trying to wipe the smile off his face, clearly wanting to know what it was she had said to cause those particular smiles.

“It's a diminutive form of uncle.”  
“Okay, that **is** kinda cute.”  
“Can we please stay focused boys.”

The fact that Pepper was actually tapping her foot had both men freezing, and noticing their reaction Yasha tensed up as well.

“Yes Miss Potts.”

Tony's teasing tone as he raised his hands in the universal sign of surrender earned him a glare, but it quickly softened into a huff as she continued to make drafts for the PR and legal side of the plans.

.·:*¨¨*:· Meeting the Family·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Once Pepper was satisfied with her part she handed the reins over to Rhodes so they could work on the more investigative and military tactics, it wasn't her forte but she kept meticulous notes nonetheless.

“You're planning on answering the Interpol's questions the same way you reached out?”  
“Depends a bit on what the questions are and how many there are, but the basic idea is the same, we'll need a new location though. Last time Yasha took out a small HYDRA communications base, but it's dead now.”

Tony knew they would probably need to find a better solution than knocking down HYDRA bases or using public WiFi, they needed something that could be used more long term, it could be years even to get a pardon if ever.  
Even if the pardon failed the current development would hopefully get rid of the bounty, and keep at least the legit people from looking too hard.

“I have selected several small bases that we have left of the active target list as they were deemed low priority and mostly harmless. They are all small locations with a total crew of 10 or less.”

Friday brought up a map and highlighted a handful of locations on it.

“Those are all targets Winter Wonder here can take down in his sleep, with his hands behind his back. But they are a limited supply. Not to mention they'll be wanting intel on HYDRA that we need to make sure we can give them without the wrong people getting a whiff off it. ”

Rhodes nodded in agreement, he may not be a spy, but he did know a thing or two about the importance of secure communication lines.

“Wakanda's offer.”

It wasn't a question, simply the logical conclusion.

“That too. But the main plan is to make a request for all the juicy information to be channelled through a small number of trusted individuals who will evaluate and forward it where it needs to go depending on how big it is.”  
“So law enforcement, the Accords council, the HYDRA taskforce coordinators, or one of the taskforce emergency action teams.”  
“Pretty much, most of it would probably go straight to the various taskforce data crunchers for further evaluation.”  
“So, who have you picked?”  
“With their offer of secure communications, Wakanda, giving T'Challa, Shuri, Okoye and Nakia access. And as the only one with tech to match Wakanda, and the resources to quickly handle and act on large amounts of information, me and Team Phantom.”  
“Rogers will definitely blow a casket and question not having himself and his Avengers on that short list, and that's going to cause some suspicion.”  
“He gave us the solution to that the day he took a known HYDRA volunteer into the Avengers.”  
“Maximoff.”

Even now Tony couldn't help the slight shiver down his spine whenever the witch was on the topic and he sighed in relief when Yasha stepped up and took over with Friday translating.

“ _Rogers always portrayed the witch as a misguided child who didn't know what she had joined, but she knew. She was an eager participant.”_  
“You came across her while they had you?”  
 _“I watched her train, ripping the minds of her victims apart, driving them to suicide, or turning them into vegetables before learning how to manipulate them into puppets. Once they believed her skill to be sufficient they attempted to use her on the Asset to ensure absolute compliance without the need for wipes or triggers. The Asset did not react well to that so they abandoned the plan.”_  
“Yeah, let that little titbit out and it'd make perfect sense to most that there's no fucking way you'd trust Rogers after regaining the memory of something like that.”  
“How much **are** you planning on putting out there? And how fast?”

There was genuine concern in Pepper's voice as she interrupted for the first time since Rhodes took over the show.

“A lot, most of it in fact, and fast.”  
“Your parents?”  
“Yeah, that's probably gonna be in the first address.”

Pepper's frown made it quite clear what she thought about that part of the plan.

“ _I will bring it up when requesting that Tony be one of the people handling any sensitive information. Apologizing for my hand in it as well as giving my condolences not only for their deaths, but for how he found out it was not an accident. I will also make sure to voice my outrage that Rogers kept it from him, and make an offhand comment that seeing such a blatant betrayal of a teammate and friend from Rogers shook me enough to disrupt the conditioning.”  
_

Pepper's gaze instantly narrowed. _  
_

“Did it?”  
 _“It did. The memory fragments of Bucky were telling me to trust, to follow Stevie, that he wouldn't lead us astray, and they were tangled with the conditioning, making me react to it as if it was the orders of a handler.”  
_

They had only made a brief mention of how the conditioning had left him with some rather intense compulsions, ones that would still surface in some situations. _  
_

“ _Such a blatant betrayal of a friend and teammate was far too much of a discrepancy from expected behaviour for the fragments to handle so they went silent, pulled back into hiding, untangling from the compulsions. This allowed me to intervene when Rogers rose with the obvious intent to escalate the fight, and as far as I could tell, willing to take lethal action.”_  
“Wouldn't you have seen Tony as a threat as well by then?”  
 _“I did, but I had already set my mission, acquire Tony Stark as handler to take down HYDRA. Him being a major threat was part of why I selected him to be my handler. I didn't remember the hit on his parents until I watched the video, I surrendered knowing he might kill me, but I needed to try to present my offer.”_  
“Do or die.”  
 _“Yes.”_  
“I did give him a few good blows, which I have apologized for since it was an asshole move against someone surrendering, but he did manage to get me to listen.”  
 _“The reaction was expected with what you had just witnessed, and I did tell you I wouldn't give empty apologies or feign remorse.”_  
“Huh? Feign remorse?”

Pepper's very confused look was slowly morphing into anger, prompting Tony to step up to explain before things got out of hand.

“I know it seems seriously wrong to normal people, but Yasha doesn't feel any remorse for the things HYDRA forced him to do. And as callous as it might come across I don't think he should, he had no choice in the matter, even in cases where the triggers weren't used to force compliance.”  
“Because if he refused he would just have been punished, and then forced to do it anyway.”

The anger was slowly replaced with a sympathetic understanding, but Tony had a feeling she would probably never fully understand, she was simply too good for that, he knew she was still struggling with feelings of guilt for her hand in the deaths of Stane and Killian..

“Exactly. And apologies won't bring anyone back so to him then it would just have been an empty gesture.”  
 _“I understand now that apologies do have a value in their own even if they can't change the past, but as I was then they would have been meaningless.”_  
“You two seem to have worked all that out though.”  
“Yeah, we have. Took a while but we're good now.”  
“It's definitely going to send a strong message if you make a public statement, accepting the apology and the request to help handle the information.”  
“And tell him I forgive him, and accept his hunt for HYDRA as atonement.”  
“Which will piss Rogers off even more.”  
“Oh yeah.”

Tony's tone made it perfectly clear that pissing Rogers off was at least half the point which had Rhodes and Pepper shaking their heads at him, but neither were able to fully hide their smiles as they got back to work.

.·:*¨¨*:· Meeting the Family·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Damn, when did it get this late?”

Rhodes grumbled as he caught the time, he would be dead on his feet by the time he made it back to the compound.

“It is rather late.”

Pepper was quick to agree and Tony found himself agreeing as well, at least for normal people who actually slept on a regular schedule.

“Why don't you give the compound a call and let 'em know you won't be back until tomorrow then we can have Fri load up a movie?”

Rhodes quickly nodded to Tony's suggestion while Pepper called Happy to let him know she would be staying as well since she had a meeting at the tower first thing in the morning anyway.  
A shared glance was all the communication it took before Tony and Yasha got up and headed for the kitchen to sort snacks for the impromptu movie night.

“We definitely need to do this more.”

Tony carefully stretched as the end credits started rolling and moments later Friday turned it of and raised the lights back to the normal evening setting.

“Make it a day when we can have something to drink next time.”

Rhodes was quick to agree while starting to collect the empty bowls and plates before teasingly telling Tony and Yasha to get lost, since they had prepared all the snacks he and Pepper would handle the clean up, movie night rules.

“Alright, see ya tomorrow.”  
 _“Good night.”_

Tony and Yasha didn't make it all the way to the master bedroom before Yasha turned and pinned Tony to the wall, kissing him with a burning fervour that was deceptively close to his usual hunger, but different enough for Tony to know he was up to something.  
A soft, surprised, sound drew his attention, and gave him a suspicion of what Yasha was up to, as Pepper entered the hallway that led to the bedrooms, the fact that Yasha only gave her a slight glance from the corner of his eye confirmed Tony's suspicion that he had intended for her to walk in on them.  
He struggled to contain his smile as he knew there was no way something like this would shake Pepper beyond the initial surprise and true to character she just huffed and continued toward her room, patting Yasha's shoulder as she passed them.

“Don't keep him up all night, I need him awake and coherent at the breakfast meeting tomorrow.”

Yasha's half annoyed, half amused huff at the lack of reaction pulled Tony's smile out, but before he could tease Yasha about it Rhodes entered the hallway and he could feel Yasha tense slightly, then lean back in to trail nibbling kisses down his neck.  
Tony knew it was all in vain though, Rhodes was if possible even more immune to Tony's indiscretions than Pepper.

“Get a room.”  
“This is a room.”  
“No, this is a hallway.”  
“My house, my rules, so if I say it's a room it's a room.”

Tony could feel the slight shaking of suppressed laughter in Yasha's shoulders and he had half a mind to just bite the devious little troll.

“How many times do I have to tell you, Tones. Keep the bedroom shit in the bedroom when I'm around.”  
“Aw, come on Platypus...”  
“Bedroom!”  
“How cruel...”

Rhodes didn't say anything else, instead he just flipped them the bird as he disappeared into his room and moments later Tony brushed his lips against Yasha's ear, intentionally giving an extra exhale before speaking.

“You done being a territorial little shit?”  
 _“Never.”_

The totally unapologetic answer despite the shiver that ran through Yasha's body made Tony snort, but he never got a chance to say anything else as Yasha stole his breath away with another searing kiss.


	20. Unpopular Answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was kinda like pulling teeth, it did not want to cooperate.

.·:*¨¨*:· Unpopular Answers·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


One week after the meeting at the compound Interpol posted their questions for the Winter Soldier, promising that the bounty would be voided if the questions were answered to their satisfaction.  
  


“Are they fucking kidding?!”  
  


Tony cursed as he looked at the page and the attached document listing over 100 questions, with a majority being about what remained of HYDRA, information that needed to be handled securely.  
  


“We are definitely going to be needing that base mockup to pull this off...”  
  


Yasha just huffed in amusement at the way Tony was cursing as he read the list of questions.  
  


“Yeah, you keep laughing. We'll see who's laughing after you spend a few days wearing the sleeve to do the recordings.”  
 _“Fuck.”_  
“Yeah, that's what I was saying.”  
  


In anticipation of needing to do more recordings they had turned an unused room into a mockup of your typical underground base, drab grey concrete walls, heavy duty industrial light fixture, an old metal frame bed and cabinet tucked against the back wall and an old metal desk placed in the middle of the room.  
All in all it looked a bit like a mix between an old bomb shelter and a military barrack, but with state of the art soundproofing and micro speakers to create ambient sounds that allowed them to create the illusion of the room being part of an active base.  
The idea was to make it seem like the Winter Soldier had other victims of HYDRA helping him, it would explain the hits on harder targets, and how he got around the world with relative ease.  
  


They were also working on converting a larger section of one of the empty floors into a proper sound stage so they could create some variation in locations, including being able to control things like light to mimic the position of the sun and weather at specific locations around the world.  
That way they'd be able to make recordings in the safety of the tower and mimic conditions of another location accurately enough for a skilled analyst to be able to place the location within a few square kilometres.  
  


“Alright let's start sorting this mess through before we head up to the minions.”  
  


Tony sighed and dumped himself into the couch, ignoring the fact that Yasha was already sprawled across most of it, earning him a slightly startled groan before strong arms grabbed him and shuffled him around a bit.  
  


“ _What did my kidneys ever do to you...”_  
  


The grumbled complaint only made Tony smile as he instructed Friday to create a new file with all the questions and start sorting them through, separating them into groups, starting with separating them into questions about past activities, and requests for current intel.  
  


“Boss, I'm finding several questions that appear to be asking the same thing, just with different wording.”  
  


Several questions were highlighted and brought to the centre of the projected display, most of them the standard trick questions police would use during interrogations to try to trip up a suspect.  
  


“Don't worry, that's expected.”  
 _“Tricks to try to catch me in a lie.”_  
“Should I treat them as separate questions, or combine them?”  
  


Yasha couldn't really place the reason, but the questions left him feeling somewhat annoyed, something that Tony obviously noticed as he snickered and teased him about having pride in his skills and he realised Tony had a point.  
He was feeling slighted that they believed he would fall for such simple tricks.  
  


“ _Just combine them, show those pricks that they are dealing with the Winter Soldier, not some two-bit hustler who can't spot a trick question when he sees one.”  
_ “Okay.”  
“Separate out any questions requesting information about current HYDRA activity, anything that would need a secure channel.”  
 _“And anything about stuff I did before DC and Project Insight.”_  
“Done and done.”  
“How much do we have left after cleaning those up?”  
“24 questions total. Focusing mainly on how the Winter Soldier was created, controlled and how much he remembers.”  
“Alright, we'll start drawing up the answers to those and you can dig through the files and see if you can find the reports to go with those questions about past missions.”  
“On it Boss.”  
 _“Maybe we should just head up, you need to be at that meeting with R &D and the jackasses from VA about trialling the new prosthetics in half an hour.”_  
“Guess you got a point there, better not start this shit until we got a few hours.”  
  


Tony sighed deeply as he closed the projection, he had been arguing with a bunch of paper pushers from the VA about getting vets to trial the new line of prosthetics that SI's medical department was working on, specifically a new series of neural interfaces.  
They were based on the clamps used for Yasha's arm, but a lot less intrusive, a baseline human wouldn't be able to survive the way Yasha's clamps were jacked into his brain, the new ones were smaller and sat on the surface of the brain rather than being embedded into it.  
It wasn't the first time they were in contact with the VA for trial runs, but it was a pain in the ass since the paper pushers kept hedging around, pointing out that the end product would obviously be too expensive to waste on veterans who wouldn't be returning to active duty.  
  


”Gotta ask though, will you be okay dealing with the VA people with all this extra shit going on?”  
 _“I think I can resist the urge to kill the bastards, no promises about not scaring the crap out of them again though.”_  
  


The first time the complaint had come up Tony had been downright shocked by the force of Yasha's reaction, he was so pissed off he had damn near lost control and it had taken quite a bit of effort to get him to stand down.  
Fortunately they had put military service into Blade's background information so no one was too surprised at the outraged reaction to the callous way they had spoken about helping veterans, it had left Yasha rather puzzled at first though, not understanding his own reaction.  
  


It turned out that the strong emotional reaction stemmed from pre-fall Bucky, from his experiences growing up in the aftermath of WWI, the Great Depression and the American entry into WWII, a reaction to the way the wars chewed up everything it touched and spat out broken pieces.  
It had resonated with Yasha's experiences under HYDRA where failure was rewarded with pain or death depending on their perceived usefulness, and injury tended to be treated with experimentation, or a bullet to the head.  
It had ultimately served as a starting point, forming a common ground for the dual aspects, Bucky and the Winter Soldier, the past and the present, ultimately allowing for a reconciliation of sorts between them, and with that, a path to the future, to Yasha.  
  


“Wouldn't expect you to. They were way out of line with that crap.”  
 _“Crap like that being seen as acceptable is why people like HYDRA manage to keep hanging on...”  
_ “I know, Snowflake, I know.”  
“...”  
  


Tony picked up Yasha's mask and brushed his fingers against his face before holding it out for him.  
  


“Let's go see if we can't give at least a small part of the world a nudge toward something better.”  
  


Yasha silently accepted the mask and leaned in closer, brushing a kiss against Tony's forehead before securing it over his face, allowing the familiar calm to wash over him.  
Tony had once asked him if wearing a mask would be too much of a reminder of HYDRA, of the muzzle they forced him to wear, and at the time he had answered that it helped him focus, it still did, but it had grown into more.  
The masks that Tony had designed for Blade and Ghost, even the upgraded version of the HYDRA muzzle and goggles that he wore on their off the books missions all helped him settle into the proper role, guardian, protector, hunter, or killer.  
They also gave him definition, limits that allowed him to relax into just being Yasha, teaching him to step out of the roles and be just the man in their absence.  
  


Yasha closed his eyes and took a deep breath then opened them again and gave Tony a slight nod, letting him know he was ready to go, and when Tony turned around and started walking toward the elevator Yasha fell in step behind him.  
It was a familiar routine and it helped both of them prepare for the day and by the time they had switched to the elevator that would take them to the R&D floor Tony had his own masks securely in place and he could feel the tension bleed away as Yasha brushed gloved fingers along his neck.  
  


Unfortunately the calm didn't last long as Tony found a very unwelcome addition to the meeting, sitting there, in the middle of the meeting room as if he belonged there was Davidson, one of Ross' more avid supporters, one of the nastier ones to boot.  
He had managed to evade the backlash when Ross went down, but Tony knew that he had been eagerly agreeing with Ross' desire to create super soldiers, apparently the VA representatives had taken it on themselves to bring him along.  
Or Davidson had talked them into it, either scenario was equally plausible, his presence however meant that he was planning on trying to convince Tony to develop bionics for the military, no doubt as another bid at creating enhanced soldiers.  
  


“Mr Davidson, what an unpleasant surprise.”  
  


Tony didn't try to hide his disdain for the man and the soft brush of a metal hand against his back told him that Yasha was ready to toss the unwanted addition out at a moment's notice.  
True to Tony's expectation it didn't take long before Davidson started pushing for things like exoskeletons for soldiers and it took quite a bit of effort to keep from just punching the bastard in the face.  
  


“In case you have forgotten, Stark Industries no longer makes weapons. And what you are suggesting is to turn soldiers into enhanced weapons, which would also be a violation of the Accords.”  
  


After they revealed what Ross had been up to and took him down there had been quite a few new amendments to the Accords to prevent various projects aimed at creating enhanced soldiers.  
  


Davidson immediately started up the familiar rant about saving lives of soldiers in the field and Tony didn't bother trying to cut in, instead he glanced over his shoulder, signalling Yasha that his patience with the unwanted guest had worn out.  
It was only years of experience that kept the glee from Tony's face as Yasha unceremoniously grabbed Davidson by the scruff and carried him out when he didn't leave at the first prompting, and Friday, bless her beautifully coded heart, already had security waiting.  
  


“If it wasn't for the fact that it would be the veterans suffering, not you desk jockeys I would be tempted to pull all and any support for a stunt like that.”  
  


Tony carefully watched the reactions of the two VA representatives, trying to determine their involvement in bringing Davidson along.  
  


“I do apologise Dr Stark, I tried to tell them it was a bad idea and would probably just end up pissing you off.”  
“John!”  
“Miss Baker, I warned you this would happen if you tried to push Dr Stark.”  
  


Tony watched with amusement, and a bit of surprise as the two started arguing, out of the two he wouldn't have pegged the young idealistic woman as the one supporting the idea of enhanced soldiers, the retired army grunt seemed the more likely supporter.  
  


“Alright, Miss Baker, consider yourself uninvited, there's a guard outside the door who will see you out. Mr Harris, you can stay, for now at least, but believe me, I **will** be taking an extra look into this.”  
“Of course Dr Stark.”  
  


Rather than doing as asked Miss Baker opened her mouth to object but closed it with an audible click when Yasha shifted his weight and rolled his shoulders, the not so subtle threat making her scramble toward the door like a roach.  
The R&D crew were clearly struggling not to laugh at the reaction, and Yasha was practically radiating amusement as he shifted his weight again and cocked his head slightly, making her drop a few of her papers which she decided not to pick up in her hurry to get out.  
  


“Alright, settle down please.”  
  


Mentally sorting through his masks Tony slipped into one that displayed calm control with an edge of authority that instantly had the room under his command and the meeting back on track.  
Unfortunately that was just the beginning as the day quickly deteriorated into one of _**those**_ days...  
  


Returning from lunch Tony finds himself staring at utter chaos tearing through R&D as everyone, including a few janitors, are running around chasing pigeons through the corridors.  
  


“How the fuck did a flock of pigeons even get into R&D?”  
  


Yasha just shrugs and leans back against the wall next to the elevator to watch the chaos unfold.  
  


At the end of the day though the pigeons were easy to explain compared to figuring out why the heck there was a pair of honest to god clowns, in full make-up, waiting in his office when he returned from afternoon coffee.  
They did check out as really being his 3 O'clock appointment, but he never did get an explanation for the clown getup...  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Unpopular Answers·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“What do you have for us sweetie?”  
  


Tony allowed himself to fall into the couch while tugging at his tie to loosen it.  
  


“I have sorted through the questions and pulled the relevant information where needed. I also took the liberty of sorting and making some preliminary drafts for the requests for information or confirmation of information that won't jeopardize future operations against HYDRA.”  
“That's my baby girl. Let's have a look.”  
  


The displays instantly came to life, starting by showing the questions Friday had deemed were requesting information that needed to be kept from HYDRA, separated into three tiers based on her risk assessments, she had also flagged a handful of questions with additional flags.  
The three tiers were straightforward enough, yellow, orange and red, low, medium and high risk of compromising future operations against HYDRA, information that would make them move things or change routines if they found out that the enemy knew about it  
The flags however were less straightforward but Friday was more than happy to explain them.  
  


“Some of these questions are oddly specific, asking for information that they shouldn't know to ask for.”  
 _“Chances are that whoever added those questions is HYDRA fishing to see how much I know...”_  
“That is my assessment as well.”  
“Yeah, I agree.”  
 _“We knew it was a likely scenario.”_  
“Well, since we're not answering those right away we have some time to see if we can figure out who added them.”  
“Got it Boss. I must say, as annoying as it can be, the bureaucracy of major international organisations can also be very useful sometimes. They have forms for everything and nice, detailed, minutes of every meeting and hearing. All of it digitalized and kept on networked computers for convenience.”  
“Just be careful in there, it could spell trouble if they catch on that someone is peeking.”  
“Don't worry Boss, I'm more concerned about catching stupid from their lack of proper cyber security, system might as well be Hammer Tech.”  
  


Friday's quip had Tony blinking owlishly for a moment before breaking down laughing.  
  


“ _Fri dear, that's not a very nice thing to say.”_  
“But it's true.”  
  


Yasha's mock scolding and Friday's somewhat petulant sounding reply only made Tony laugh harder and by the time he managed to catch his breath again he was feeling better, the stress of the very weird day washed away.  
  


“Thanks, I needed that.”  
  


He accepted the water bottle that Yasha offered and took a deep swig before turning his attention back on the data Friday was displaying.  
  


“Alright, let's see what else we have while you look into those flags.”  
“These questions are all related to confirming past HYDRA activity as well as suspected Winter Soldier hits.”  
“Let's start with the suspected hits, how many of them can you confirm?”  
“Out of the 78 names listed I have been able to confirm 51. Out of those we have files on 37, the remaining 14 are only available from BARF data. Out of the 51 I have been able to confirm 38 as being carried out by the Winter Soldier, the remaining 13 were carried out by other agents.”  
 _“Do you have pictures and profiles on the remaining 27?”_  
“Of course Yasha, would you like to review them now?”  
 _“Please, it might trigger some memories, and if not we'll plug it into BARF and do a session tomorrow.”  
_ “Would it help if I display them in HYDRA's mission brief format? BARF data currently shows a 483 percent increase in memory retrieval rates in sessions using the format.”  
 _“That high?”_  
“Yes, the numbers fluctuate within an approximate range of 450 to 500 percent.”  
 _“In that case, please go ahead.”_  
  


Tony watched as Yasha settled down and forced himself to slip deeper into the Asset to be able to better handle any resurfaced memories, they had found that the process of reacquiring mission related memories would sometimes make Yasha lash out, especially if the triggers had been used.  
  


“ _Ready to comply.”_  
“Asset, stand by to review and confirm mission status.”  
 _“Complying.”_  
  


Tony watched carefully as the display changed to show the information on the first of the remaining 27 suspected Winter Soldier hits in the now familiar format of HYDRA mission briefings, ready to step in and act the part of handler if needed.  
  


“ _Mission data confirmed, target eliminated by the Asset, package retrieved. No witnesses.”_  
“Contents of package?”  
 _“Biological samples of unknown origin.”_  
  


Tony nodded and flicked his wrist at the display, bringing up the next file.  
  


“ _Mission data unavailable.”_  
  


The following file received the same reaction, indicating that they weren't among the Winter Soldier's hits, but they would retest them with BARF just in case, and even then there were no guarantees, they knew that some memories would probably never return.  
  


“ _Mission data confirmed, target eliminated by codename Adder, four witnesses eliminated. VIP killed during extraction.”  
_

Yasha paused for a moment before speaking up again.  
  


“ _Related mission confirmed, terminate codename Adder. Target eliminated by the Asset, no witnesses.”  
_

In the end 12 of the files were flagged as data unavailable and the remaining were confirmed as being HYDRA hits, but 11 of them had been carried out by other agents, the triggered memories being of them being mentioned in other briefings.  
  


“Come on Snowflake, look at me.”  
  


Tony gently started guiding Yasha back out of the Asset mindset, the first step being to establish proper eye contact.  
  


“That's it sweetie, let me see those pretty eyes.”  
 _“The Asset has discretion?”_  
“The Asset has discretion.”  
  


The exact steps varied slightly, but the dance always followed a familiar tune and it didn't take long for Yasha to return to his usual state of mind.  
  


“Let's draw up a few drafts and send 'em out to Pep and Rhodey then we can start recording the other stuff when you had a chance to get back in your head properly.”  
 _“Yeah, proper English might be a bit hard right now.”_  
“Boss, Yasha...”  
“Yes?”  
  


Friday hesitated for a moment, well aware of Yasha's complicated relationship with languages, especially English and Russian, she was still struggling to understand the finer nuances of it, but she did understand that it was one of his many coping mechanisms.  
Those occasional slips into the Brooklyn accent of _Bucky Barnes_ while speaking English had come to signify a loss of control, a loss of self that left him terrified.  
  


“I have been studying the effects of stress, anxiety and trauma in relation to linguistics and I think it might be better if you don't try to force yourself to speak without the accent. The stress you put on yourself when forcing it could be misinterpreted.”  
  


Yasha knew they would analyse his statement for stress indicators to try to figure out if he was lying or withholding information, and Friday did make a very good point, an analyst could misinterpret his discomfort.  
  


“The previous statement was very short, not enough to build a profile, but in a longer statement they'll be able to pick up on the tension. And that's before factoring in your strong stress response whenever anything Brooklyn slips out.”  
  


He knew Friday was right, it was all part of his training, but he had gotten used to Tony not caring what language he spoke, at least not as long as it was one he understood, and even then he usually just asked for lessons.  
  


“...”  
  


Tony watched as Friday landed the Eidolon on Yasha's shoulder and used it to nuzzle his neck and face, something that Friday had started doing with increasing frequency as her emotional capacity grew beyond anything Tony had dared dream of.  
She did it to him as well sometimes, but not nearly as often, instead she would reach out for the nanites, brush her code against them making awareness flicker across his mind as the computer to brain interface lit up.  
The sensation had been really strange, and somewhat disconcerting, at first but he had gotten used to it pretty fast, though he had to admit, to himself at least, that a large part of that had come from his many talks with one of the young enhanced enrolled in his scholarship program.  
  


The mutant girl was a strong empath with low level telepathy who had applied for one of the special scholarships to help enhanced with their abilities, wanting to study psychology in hopes of being able to use her ability to help people heal from emotional trauma.  
The way she had described the feeling of awareness that her powers gave her when she used them had been a pretty good match for how he felt when using the nanites to interface with technology, down to the differences between levels of sapience.  
She had described the differences between feeling an animal and a human, even differences between different animals depending on the complexity of their minds, their level of sapience, something he had been happy to help her explore.  
Her description matched up with the difference in sensation between interfacing with basic tech which barely registered, how she described simple insects, most smart tech matched with how she described social insects like bees and ants.  
Moving up the chain more advanced computer systems felt like animals, the more advanced the system the higher order of animals.  
The simpler AI's of his bots matched how she had described the feeling of animals like the hominids and cetaceans, then there was Friday who was so much more, so human, and yet so alien, childlike with a sometimes frightening potential.  
  


Once again Tony found himself cursing the fact that he still hadn't been able to come up with a way to make her a fully independent body, making a body that she could control remotely was as easy as making a suit, but that just wasn't the same.  
Making it **her** , like with Vision, or Ultron, was a whole other ballgame, the mind stone had somehow altered the AI matrix and allowed it to be transferred to the synthetic bodies and Tony had no clue how and being reminded of it made him reiterate his default statement of hating magic.  
A moment later he cursed his own stupidity, he had someone who could teach him about magic now, someone who happened to like Friday and treated her like a person, he quickly made up his mind, the next time he had a chance he would ask Loki about it.  
  


Feeling Yasha's hand brush against his face brought Tony out of his own mind, and the various design options he had started running, leaving him blinking slowly before he caught up with his surroundings.  
  


“Welcome back котенок.”  
“Sorry, how long was I gone?”  
 _“A few minutes.”_  
  


Tony found himself momentarily stunned by Yasha's soft smile, part amused, part indulgent as the familiar warmth began to spread through him, not desire, but love.  
  


“Sorry...”  
 _“Don't be.”  
_ “I...”  
  


A metal finger on his lips silenced the objection, apology, before he could speak it and the slight warning glint in Yasha's eyes made him nod in silent acquiescence, logically he knew Yasha was just teasing, but instincts still demanded he submit.  
  


“ _You were designing again.”  
_ “Mhm, got distracted and ended up with a few ideas...”  
 _“Good.”_  
  


Even after living together for almost 2 years Tony still found himself surprised by Yasha's easy acceptance of the way he would lose himself to his inventing, instead of demanding attention he would just keep watch and wait.  
Even when he got into one of his manic binges Yasha would just make sure he had plenty of snacks and liquids, allowing him to burn the mania off before gently guiding him to bed.  
  


“Ready to get this show on the road?”  
 _“As ready as can be.”_  
“Alright, I'll go set up while you get changed.”  
 _“Complying.”_  
  


The tone was soft and teasing as Yasha walked toward the bedroom, leaving Tony to head to the elevator, and the recording room.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Unpopular Answers·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Did you get the connectors alright this time?”  
  


Tony had designed the cover for Yasha's arm so he would be able to put it on and take it off himself, but there were a few issues with some of the connectors not always aligning properly which messed with the movement of a few of the shoulder plates.  
  


“ _Feels like it at least.”_  
“Run the calibration sequence please.”  
  


Tony focused on the sound of the arm as the plates shifted and realigned under the sleeve of the shirt, carefully listening for any discordant sounds but the sequence completed with nothing but the usual soft whirring and clicking.  
  


“Doesn't sound like anything's wrong. How does it feel?”  
 _“It's catching a bit on the sleeve, but feels okay.”_  
“Great, let's start then.”  
  


One of the things they had worked out together with Pepper was that they needed to add some layers to how the public would perceive Yasha, in the first video they had shown a hunted man struggling to stay free, but she had pointed out that they needed nuances.  
In light of that they would show a different side this time, the penitent lone wolf who was willing to risk working with others to repent for the horrors committed using his body, his skills, without his consent.  
To set the stage Yasha was wearing a set of urban camouflage fatigues and at some point during his little speech Friday would use the intercom on the table to interrupt with an announcement that the mission was a go.  
  


And just in case someone decided to go digging, the mission was real, they would be working with a small group of enhanced ex-military to take down a trafficker who specialised in enhanced children and the children of enhanced individuals.  
There was also the usual run of the mill drugs, weapons and tech as well as _exotics_ , which was mostly Chitauri based, but there were some solid indications that he also dealt in things like bootleg Super serum, Terrigen, even a gene therapy that was supposed to induce the X-gene.  
He was well known to happily work with any scum, including groups like HYDRA so no one would question how Bucky, how the Winter Soldier, had ended up working with the group who were best known for their protectiveness toward the enhanced community.  
Their favourite pastime was vigilante style attacks on targets like traffickers targeting enhanced, various illegal, or unethical, labs both private and government run, as well as anti-enhanced groups like the Watchdogs, and to stay fed and geared they took on mercenary work.  
  


Moving to the small control room Tony sat down and watched as Yasha turned on the camera and walked over to the desk, then removed the shirt, leaving him in a sleeveless compression shirt that put the arm on display but hid the scars.  
  


“You have a lot of questions, more than I can answer in one go.”  
  


He shuffled the papers on the desk as if checking them, not that he needed to, he had near perfect recall.  
  


“The intel on HYDRA will have to wait, I can't just hand that over when your organisations are still infested, I need to have a secure means of getting it to the people who can use it without HYDRA getting tipped off.”  
  


Yasha continued to pick apart the questions, listing the ones he didn't have an answer for, picking apart some of the trick questions and duplicates with variations in wording.  
  


“Before I answer any of these questions there is something I need to say.”  
  


Tony could feel his pulse picking up, and the way the vents on Yasha's arm snapped shut was telling even if there was no other visible sign of his tension.  
  


“Dr Stark... I know words will never be enough, that no apology can ever absolve me. I'm not asking for forgiveness...”  
  


Yasha's words trailed off and he took a steadying breath before continuing.  
  


“I'm sorry for my part in the murder of your parents, HYDRA took my choice away, but their blood is still on my hands. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry you had to find out the way you did, _no one should have to endure such a betrayal from a teammate, from a friend._ ”  
  


The last part came out in Russian and Yasha stood and started pacing behind the desk.  
  


“I still find it hard to reconcile such a _blatant betrayal_ with the Steve from my memories, but it did allow me to break free from the _compulsion to follow him, to obey him_.”  
  


The accent remained heavy, and parts of it came out in Russian, but Yasha pushed through and explained how the bombing had pushed him back into extreme hypervigilance and caused some of the conditioned compulsions to trigger and get tangled with memories.  
He explained how he had been triggered which left him in a highly suggestive state, further pushing him to follow Rogers, and he spoke of the shock of seeing the video, of how it triggered his memories, and he spoke of Rogers' betrayal.  
  


“When Steve moved to attack Stark, _a man devastated by grief and betrayal, a supposed friend and teammate_ , with lethal intent rather than try to de-escalate it was enough of a shock to bring me back to my senses for a moment. A moment I used to knock him out and _get the hell out of there_.”  
  


It was the truth, just sans a few details.  
  


“T'Challa of Wakanda, I'm sorry we had to cross paths under such grim circumstances. I don't fault you for how you reacted, your apology is more than I could ask for, so I hope you're willing to...”  
  


\--Heads up, we got the green light! Rendezvous in 15 hours. Get your affairs in order and get some shuteye, we're moving out in 10.--  
  


As they had planned Friday cut in with an announcement about the mission, using a male voice with a slight Arabic accent, the kind of accent someone could gain from living or working for an extended time in a different country.  
Yasha reached for the intercom on the desk but before he could use it the small speaker crackled again.  
  


\--That goes for you too you stubborn bastard, get some extra food and a few hours of proper sleep.--  
  


Yasha shook his head at the intercom before pushing the button and confirming that he had heard the announcement and would be dropping by soon.  
  


“Now where was I...”  
  


Yasha hummed and tapped metal fingers against his chin.  
  


"Ah, yes, Wakanda.”  
  


Yasha focused back on the camera and squared his shoulders, sending a ripple of motion along the arm as the plates realigned smoothly, another intentional act, intentionally making the arm more animated that it would usually be.  
It too carried a multilayered purpose, it was an easy means of identification and showing it off confirmed who he was, and it made it easy for the analysts to get plenty of, outdated, data on the arm, how it moved and sounded.  
Things that would help throw them off the trail if they got it into their heads to investigate any of the anonymous Accords signers listed to have some form of metal or prosthetic left arm, which was a surprisingly large number.  
  


“T'Challa, I was hoping you'd be willing to call us even for that whole debacle, and I was hoping Wakanda is still willing to help out with that secure line of communication. _As far as I know HYDRA has never managed to gain a foothold in Wakanda_ , despite their best efforts I have found _no records indicating a successful infiltration_ , recruitment or plant.”  
  


Yasha tapped his flesh and blood fingers against a heavy duty flash drive.  
  


“This is both an offer and a request, give me a secure line of communications and it will give you information on HYDRA and its allies, information that I will trust you to make sure gets put to good use to take HYDRA down.”  
  


With a sigh Yasha shifted his position and leaned back in the chair.  
  


“Trust does not come easy for me, the failure of Project Insight may have alerted the world to HYDRA's continued existence, but as much as it revealed there are still many factions, cells, out there, _hiding in plain sight._ ”  
  


A hidden signal prompted Friday to buzz the intercom again, giving Yasha a moment to compose himself as he pushed the button to accept the call that would end the recording session.  
  


\--You're needed in the armoury, they need the final word on the new rifle.--  
“Alright, let 'em know I'll be right down.”  
\--Will do.--  
  


Yasha quickly turned back to the camera and offered a shrug.  
  


“ _Time's up for now_. I just want to add one more person to the list of people I'd like to have handle the information, Dr Stark. He's got the means and skills to handle large amounts of raw data and break down encryptions, and _HYDRA has never been able to get to him despite their best efforts_. I trust him to keep the information safe, and make sure it's used to hit HYDRA where it hurts.”  
  


He stood up and started moving toward the camera to turn it of, then paused for a moment.  
  


“One last thing, Steve, stop fucking trying to find me. You clearly can't smell the HYDRA rats and you don't seem to have the brains keep 'em off your tail. You just can't seem to stop doing their dirty work for 'em.”  
  


The last bit was a bit of a low blow, but Yasha was still pissed about the way Rogers had hunted him, more than once putting HYDRA on his trail when Tony's resources paid off in leads, he knew it wasn't intentional, which just ended up pissing him off even more.  
The total lack of consequence analysis, going off around the world half cocked without taking into account that Yasha was hiding from HYDRA was outright incompetent, and a fierce contempt for incompetence was one of the few things Yasha didn't mind admitting he shared with HYDRA.  
  


“I'll be in touch with more answers when I get the time.”  
  


Closing the distance he turned off the camera and palmed the memory card, Friday would run some scans on it to make sure there wasn't any unintentional information on it and ready it for upload together with a few files.  
They would upload it after the mission was over with, the plan being to use the resources of the target once they had him down.  
  


“You okay there Snowflake?”  
 _“I will be, nothing we didn't suspect would happen.”_  
“So, food, cuddles, mission prep and some sleep?”  
 _“Sounds like a solid plan.”_  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Unpopular Answers·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Holy shit! How the fuck did you pull off that shot?”  
  


The leader of the mercenary group walked over to Yasha who was wiping the blood from his vibranium edged swords.  
  


“My old masters accepted nothing less than perfection, something they are learning to regret.”  
  


He turned slightly and gave the rifle at his side a gentle pat, smile hidden behind the muzzle.  
  


“No kidding. You blew the bastard's head clean off. And the distance of that shot... Fucking insane...”  
“It's the safest way to deal with a potentially enhanced target. A high muzzle velocity to counteract evasive enhancements, and high impact to ensure maximum damage. Not many out there who can regrow a head, or survive without one.”  
“A tough combination without losing range and accuracy.”  
“I have a good supplier.”  
“No kidding, the way you cut those armoured bastards down takes more than just strength and technique. Adamantium swords?”  
“Vibranium lined edge.”  
“Like the ones used by Ghost?”  
  


There was a flicker of concern along Tony's spine, the swords were a backup set without the snowflake insignia, but they were still a characteristic weapon and they could do without the extra attention, the way the vents on Yasha's arm closed mid cycle told him the sentiment was a shared one.  
  


“Yes, we have a lot in common, and seeing those swords I couldn't help wanting them.”  
“I can see why. Must have been expensive though, vibranium is pretty rare.”  
“Fortunately there are resourceful people out there who are willing to help me take down HYDRA by making sure I'm properly geared.”  
“You...”  
  


Whatever the man was about to say next was promptly ignored as Yasha spotted Tony approaching, it still felt odd to see him wearing the copy of the Winter Soldier uniform, but it was the best way to conceal his identity.  
There was enough information and rumours about the Winter Soldier program out there to support the idea that there were more of them out there, and wearing the same uniform would help people make the assumption.  
Throughout their contact with the group Tony had never shown his face, always wearing the muzzle and goggles, he only ever spoke Russian and the built in voice modulator in the muzzle distorted his voice, playing up the idea that he was just another liberated asset.  
  


“ _Ice, you got what we need?”  
“Yes Sir.”  
_

Playing the role of a subordinate further enhanced the image of him being an asset created with the intention of having it act as a support unit with a complementary skill set to allow the original Winter Soldier to fight at full power.  
  


“ _Anything else to report?”  
“I was able to bypass the copy protection and clone the drives, but I need time to break down the encryption.”  
“Good work.”  
“Thank you Sir.”_  
  


The fact that Tony could easily pick up on Yasha's teasing amusement despite the gear and the flat voice of the Asset was telling for how well he had gotten to know the man.  
  


“ _Permission to inspect the arm, Sir?”  
“Go ahead.”_  
  


The cover was reasonably sturdy, but Yasha had done more hand to hand combat than anticipated and Tony wanted to make sure there wasn't any damage that could reveal the true nature of it, it also had the added bonus of enhancing their little display.  
Tony could feel the others watching as he did a quick check on the arm, silently prompting Yasha to run the various test sequences as he prodded the weaker spots of the old design, rounding it off with the full sequence, running his hand along the shifting plates.  
  


“Alright everyone, our ride is still two hours out so keep your eyes peeled for party crashers. Winter, Ice, you two good to cover the east side?”  
  


They had approached the compound on foot under the cover of dark, but they had aerial extraction set up that would be arriving at dawn, the pilot didn't want to risk a night flight as the weather was unstable and the mountain area was well known for its treacherous wind conditions.  
  


“Of course. _Ice, launch the drones._ ”  
 _“Complying.”_  
  


The rather odd looks Tony was getting as he removed his backpack and grabbed the case with the four small thermal drones told them that the mercenary leader probably had at least a basic understanding of Russian.  
  


“Complying?”  
  


The question confirmed the suspicion and Yasha shrugged before offering a slightly evasive reply that it took time to fully shake the kind of conditioning used by the Winter Soldier program and the slight flinch told them the group had studied the files from the DC dump.  
  


“The level of cruelty that some people are capable of shouldn't surprise me anymore, but it seems every time I think I've seen the worst something new comes along.”  
“My experiences quickly taught me to always expect worse.”  
“Yeah, I've seen the files from the mess in DC, and I have a feeling those horrors were just a few teaser samples of what they put you through.”  
“I survived. Hundreds of others didn't.”  
“I'd argue they were the fortunate ones, survival tends to be the worst case scenario when dealing with that kind of animals.”  
  


The last bit made Yasha scoff in contempt.  
  


“Humans are the only animal capable of acting with that kind of sadistic savagery.”  
“We do make excellent monsters, don't we?”  
“Every monster, every horror story, is created by the human mind, and for every atrocity the mind can conceive of there is always someone willing, capable, of doing it.”  
  


With those words Yasha turned his back and started walking toward the east side of the compound and Tony quickly followed him, silently cursing the lack of privacy as it kept him from offering much in the way of comfort.  
When Yasha settled down into a sitting firing position on a small ledge with a good vantage point Tony quickly settled against his back, it was all he could do without giving anyone reason to think it was more than just him supporting and watching Yasha's back.  
  


Dawn brings with it birdsong, and the distinctive sound of a tandem rotor helicopter announcing the approach of their ride back home.  
It doesn't take long before the familiar silhouette of an older model Chinook appears above the treeline and settles down in the small clearing next to the main building, she is well kept, but Phoenix itches in the back of Tony's mind.  
Reaching out he can feel it, a slight misalignment in the rear transmission setup is generating more friction than normal, which is causing heat build-up and excessive wear on the components, something Tony's engineer's soul just can't stand for.  
Walking up to the rear pylon he looks up at it before grabbing the nearest mercenary and gesturing toward the rotor hub.  
  


“ _The transmission assembly requires maintenance.”_  
“What? Sorry, my Russian is pretty much limited to duck and run...”  
  


The man, a mutant with low level kinetic abilities that allowed him to increase the destructive potential of the bullets in his many guns, offered up an apologetic smile while looking around for someone to help figure out what Tony was saying.  
  


“I think he said something's wrong with the transmission.”  
  


The scout of the group, a young woman with a mid range regenerative ability and bionic enhancements has a somewhat better grasp of the language and Tony is just about to start trying to explain when Yasha and the group leader joins them.  
  


“He said the transmission assembly requires maintenance.”  
“What's wrong with it?”  
 _“It's misaligned, causing abnormal heat and wear.”_  
  


Yasha translated and the pilot, who also doubled as the primary maintenance tech joined them in a hurry to see what was wrong with his precious baby and after some translating back and forth he breathed a sigh of relief as Tony explained that the problem wasn't a critical one.  
Tony had to bite back a laugh when the group behind him and the pilot all sighed and spoke as one, Yasha included, lamenting the peculiarities of mechanics and technicians.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Unpopular Answers·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


While Friday waited for Tony and Yasha to return home to the tower she kept careful watch over the reactions to the video, both on the internet, in the various agencies, and in the compound, keeping her eyes and ears peeled.  
She carefully put together a comprehensive report on the reactions while also dropping a few comments here and there to steer the debate in a favourable direction, nudging the world to ask the necessary questions.  
She completed her report by adding recordings from the surveillance at the compound, detailing Rogers' reactions to Yasha's statement, though she was somewhat confused by the reactions, and her own response to them.  
  


There was still a lot left for her to learn about emotions but she had become quite good at interpreting them, much thanks to her work with assisting Yasha with BARF, and her own ability to feel was developing rapidly.  
Putting a name to her own feelings wasn't always easy, especially when new ones surfaces, or as they did now, rose in a mixed jumble, in the end she found that she had to describe her feelings as equal parts concern and amusement.  
  


Rogers' initial reaction of joy was to be expected as the video confirmed that his precious _Bucky_ was safe and free, the comment about how he looked much healthier than last time confirmed the reason for the good mood, however Rogers quickly grew agitated.  
As Yasha sorted through the questions that were being rejected, or delayed, Rogers began pacing and ranting about how they had no right to treat _Bucky_ like a criminal, about how they had no right to ask those questions.  
Any mention of questions about missions the Winter Soldier had done or was suspected of having done triggered an immediate reaction where Rogers would go off about how it wasn't _Bucky_ , about how he was innocent of all wrongs.  
He vehemently proclaimed that asking those kinds of questions was nothing but bullying, protesting that the questions were inhumane and cruel for making his innocent _Bucky_ think about such horrors.  
The rants were interjected by tirades about how since it wasn't really _Bucky_ they should just forget about all that stuff and focus on helping him remember how to be _Bucky_ instead.  
  


There were spikes of agitation at other points as well and it took her a while before she realized the cause, whenever Yasha's Russian accent became stronger Rogers showed signs of increased agitation, triggering statements about helping _Bucky_ remember, helping him forget.  
  


She knew that reviewing the records of this would leave Yasha upset, hearing the old nickname always left him unsettled because of how it had caused the memories to get tangled with the conditioning, how it had made him follow Rogers.  
Rogers' insistence that if he only remembered being Bucky everything would be right in the world had him shivering with dread, a primal fear of losing himself that sent phantom pain crackling through his mind and left him with echoes of ice crawling in his bones.  
  


When working with BARF it was seeing the memories of how the chair and the cryostasis had robbed him of himself over and over again that were the most likely to leave Yasha a trembling mess, that would send him hiding away in the sauna to chase away the cold.  
She wished there was something she could do to protect him, but she understood he needed to see this for himself, and with that understanding came the realization that there was more to his previous words about hurting your loved ones.  
Sometimes you had to hurt them to protect them, and sometimes you had to allow them to be hurt, allow them to suffer pain in order for them to be able to heal, it was all a part of the process, broken bones needed to be set to heal right.  
  


For a moment she felt the familiar flicker of the insatiable thirst for knowledge she had been created with as her awareness spread through the information that was always available to her, seeking out data relevant to her realization, confirming her conclusion.  
With a speed unmatched by any other she scoured a wide range of databases on topics such as setting or re-breaking bones and popping dislocated joints back into place, then moved on to things like the debridement of wounds.  
It was an easy thing for her to reach the conclusion that the basis of debridement applied to psychology as well, cutting away the harmful elements, walk away from toxic individuals or environments, even if it was painful, in order to subsequently heal.  
With that in mind she decided she needed to re-evaluate the Dark Side Protocol and the Ω-archive to include contingencies for the mental wellness of her family, they were heavily protected though so it would take a while to access them without being told to.  
She knew that her intentions, the way they went against the moral code of society, would leave her father conflicted, even if he agreed with them, the dichotomy between his darkness and morality was a constant source of confusion to her.  
Setting the process in one of her lower priority groups she refocused on the top priority tasks, making sure to stay on top of the reactions on the various communities, and making sure she didn't miss any of the Rogues' reactions.  
  


As she watched Rogers' ranting she noticed something rather curious, Lang was growing increasingly tense and emotions were flickering across his face, disbelief warring with confusion and fear, then settling on resignation.  
It would seem the man had begun to see through the legend of Captain America, finding something less than heroic behind the star spangled mask, picking up on something less than palatable beneath the sparkling red, white and blue.  
She quickly tore through the stored surveillance files, taking a closer look at Lang and she found him gradually pulling back from the others, clearly growing disillusioned with what he was finding, something that warranted further investigation.  
She quickly turned to the server storing surveillance data from the hidden cameras in the compound, she hadn't actively reviewed most of it, only storing things that didn't fit normal day to day activities and she quickly found some answers.  
  


In the fallout of his choices Lang had lost custody of his daughter, and his visitation rights had been limited to a one hour video call once a week, and for these calls he would lock himself in his room, presumably for privacy.  
He had always stayed in his room for a while after those calls, stating a need for some time to himself to deal with it, but in the past few weeks his routine had changed, he had started writing down observations about Rogers.  
  


What had once been righteous was twisted into something sanctimonious.  
What had once been protection freely offered to those who needed it now came with stipulations of assent.  
What had once been inspiring speeches had turned coaxing with an edge of guilt.  
What had once been a champion for the weak and voiceless turned into the very thing he claimed to fight, a bully.  
  


There were observations about the others as well, none of them very flattering, and before leaving his room he burned the slips of paper he had been writing on, clearly not wanting to risk them finding out about his doubts.  
Friday filed the information away and added a new line to her active tasks, she would monitor Lang more closely, perhaps there was hope that he could be redeemed, seeing one of the Rogues walk away from Rogers would be good for her creator.  
  


When the video reached the point where Yasha apologised for his part in the assassination of Howard and Maria Stark things took an unexpected turn, Rogers' reaction deviating from the usual patterns.  
Previous experience had Friday expecting Rogers to explode into another fit, but instead he stilled as if in shock, whispering words of confused denial, rejecting what he was seeing, questioning why Bucky would apologize for something he didn't do.  
Shaking his head in denial he turned to Romanoff when Yasha slipped into Russian, not trusting the subtitles that had been added where needed.  
  


She watched as the video was paused and the Rogues, sans Lang, gathered close to support their leader, though Barton was mostly ranting about how _Stark_ was the one who should apologise, while Wilson carefully explained that even if someone weren't at fault they could still feel guilt.  
Romanoff's words were placating, cajoling, and Friday saw them for what they were, wholly false, nothing but smoke and mirrors to secure her own position, a play ensuring she would have Rogers' ear, solidifying his belief in her loyalty.  
Lang remained at the edge of the group, offering confused smiles and mumbled words of how it all was just too much for him to grasp, and none of the others looked any deeper, all too happy to cast him in the role of the simple minded fool when offered.  
Friday saw the truth, saw the hint of something sharp in Lang's eyes when the others weren't looking, he may be a fool who trusted too easily, but once past that he clearly did have a decent head on his shoulders.  
  


Things turned quite interesting when they continued the playback of the video and watched Yasha talk about events after the bombing in Vienna, giving his account of things up to and including knocking Rogers out in Siberia.  
It quickly became obvious that Rogers hadn't told the others about the video of the assassination of the Starks, or even that it had been an assassination in the first place, the reactions of the others were somewhat diverse.  
Wilson looked confused, and almost sad while a flicker of outright disgust crossed Lang's face but was quickly hidden, Barton just shrugged in acceptance while Romanoff's reaction told Friday that she knew, at least about the murder.  
Friday wasn't surprised that the spy hadn't said anything, information like that was just the kind of thing she would hoard like treasure, keep hidden to use when it suited her the best.  
She was equally unsurprised when Romanoff chided Rogers for not telling Tony about it after asking her not to with the motivation that Tony deserved to hear it from him and that he would do it when the immediate situation had calmed down a bit.  
  


The light scolding turned Rogers' defensiveness into another rant where he aggressively justified his actions, going on about how he knew Tony wouldn't be able to see past himself and understand that _Bucky_ was innocent.  
Telling them he knew Tony would overreact and act rashly, that he'd go after _Bucky_ if he found out, and that the events in Siberia proved that he was right, claiming that Tony had gone after _Bucky_ to kill him and that he had been forced to fight to protect him.  
Barton instantly accepted the claim and launched into his own tirade that basically iterated _Stark is the devil_ , Wilson looked like he was about to object, but then relented without comment, Lang however tensed up and Friday could see flickers of anger turn to fury.  
  


Friday finds herself growing restless from the constant distractions as she watches Rogers go off on yet another soliloquy about how confused poor _Bucky_ must have been by what happened in the bunker, trying to rationalize _Bucky_ siding with Tony.  
Things take a turn for the weird though when Barton quips that maybe it was the Winter Soldier waking up to protect a HYDRA operative, alluding that Tony was HYDRA which had Friday considering to just hijack a missile and send their way.  
Rogers seemed to actually consider it while Wilson rejected the implication, Romanoff just sighed and cuffed Barton over the back of his head, telling him to not be an idiot, Lang however shook his head in resignation.  
  


As predicted Rogers did not react well to seeing his _Bucky_ ask for Tony to be one of his contacts, professing his trust in him, and the final line, telling Rogers to back off, telling him he was a liability, led to the untimely death of the small laptop computer.  
Had she been in possession of a body Friday would have sighed and shaken her head as Rogers grabbed the laptop and broke it in half before throwing the pieces into the wall in a tantrum of epic proportions.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:· Unpopular Answers·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Welcome home _Soldiers_. Congratulations on a mission well done.”  
  


Friday's tone was playful as she greeted the men the moment they stepped from the landing pad into the antechamber that served both as an entryway where outdoor clothing could be kept, and a secure access mantrap.  
  


“ _Thank you mission control. It's good to be back.”  
_ “Thank you mission control. It's good to be back.”  
  


Neither of them hesitated to play along with the teasing greeting, answering her in unison, though sounding discordant due to the different languages.  
  


“Food will be ready by the time you're done in the shower, assuming you don't get distracted...”  
“You are far too young to be sassing people like that baby girl.”  
  


Tony mock scolded her for the rather suggestive quip while Yasha just grinned at the nearest camera, making it perfectly clear that he already had some distractions in mind.  
  


“Postponing food foor 15 minutes...”  
 _“That's a good girl.”_  
“Hey, no corrupting my sweet baby girl you old pervert!”  
 _“Bit late for that, pretty sure she's seen it all by now. After all, the only rooms without video surveillance are bedrooms and bathrooms, and how often do we actually make it to the bedroom?”_  
“Not to mention even those locations still have live thermal imaging...”  
  


The way Friday managed to convey an air of _Scarred for life_ rewarded her with bright laughter that helped chase away the lingering darkness that always came with the missions.  
  


“I also have the preliminary reports on the reactions to the video ready, but I suggest postpone reviewing the report on the Rogues. It's... Intense and I believe you would be better off being properly rested.”  
“Yeah, definitely food and sleep before we deal with that crap..”  
 _“I feel like I could eat a fucking horse then sleep for a week.”_  
  


They were both tired and hungry, neither of them had felt safe enough to sleep, even with the other being awake, and without removing the muzzle they were limited to liquids through a straw, water and meal replacement drinks.  
Though, the new and improved drinks based on the nutrition packs that Yasha used to receive on longer missions weren't so bad, they even came in a few different flavours, but there was something about the liquid sustenance that always left them wanting.  
  


“Getting spoiled there _Soldier_?”  
 _“I could easily keep at it for another week.”_  
“Boss, Yasha!”  
  


Friday interrupted their playful bickering as her sensors picked up on an anomalous energy reading in the bedroom.  
  


“What?”  
“I'm picking up an anomalous energy reading.”  
“Where?” _  
“Analysis?”_  
  


The reactions were instant, switching both of them right back into mission mode.  
  


“The bedroom, and based on the readings it would appear the gifts from Loki have become active.”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm giving Lang a chance for redemption as I kinda see him as an idealist who wants to do good but goes off half cocked (as usual) and gets in way over his head (also his usual MO).  
> He realizes he's screwed up and wants to make up for it which leaves him even more vulnerable to getting pulled along by the others, seduced by their conviction in their own _The world needs us!_ rhetoric.  
> But now he's starting to see them for the messed up hypocrites they are, giving him a chance to break away.


	21. Of Hopes and Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have found that Jiggzaw Puzzles can be very distracting, and addictive, ended up doing both of the 1000 pieces ones i got for X-mas, putting everything else on the backburner...

.·:*¨¨*:·Of Hopes and Dreams·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Tony and Yasha shared a glance, then vanished into the shower with record speed, prompting Friday to hurry up with the food, they wanted to get ready for bed early, eager to test the promised shared dreaming, unfortunately they did have a bit of work that couldn't wait.  
  


“Would you like to review the initial data while you wait for the food?”  
  


The shower had been much quicker than normal, leaving an estimated 10 minutes before food was ready to eat.  
  


“Please.”  
  


A number of holographic displays flickered to life over the kitchen island, showing a wide range of data about the new video, number of views and shares, hourly averages worldwide and projections adjusted to take time zones into account.  
  


“The overall reactions are very positive, and supportive toward Yasha. And near overwhelmingly negative toward Rogers based on him knowing about the assassination. Though there are still groups who doubt the information, and those who even agree with the choice of not telling you.”  
 _“That's never going to change, some will always believe Rogers and disbelieve Tony, no matter what.”_  
“An unequivocal truth of the world, idiots are a dime a dozen.”  
 _“Unfortunately.”_  
“It should be a relief then to know that there is also a rapidly increasing number of demands that the originators and supporters of the bounty be investigated for HYDRA connections. And I didn't even need to plant that one.”  
  


There was no mistaking the glee in Friday's tone as she brought the ever increasing number of petitions to the central display, detailing the statistics for signatures on them as well as local regulations regarding petitions.  
Some nations had laws that dictated that petitions had to be reviewed and formally voted on if they achieved a certain number of signatures, and a lot of them already had the required number, meaning chances were high that there would be a bunch of inquiries and formal investigations.  
  


“How many of them have HYDRA contacts that normal investigators might be able to find and prove?”  
  


They had already done an in depth investigation that showed that most of the instigators were HYDRA or were closely connected to them, some were ideological sympathizers, some were profiteers, and some complied under duress.  
The problem was to get actual admissible evidence of it, HYDRA was unfortunately very good at hiding their tracks, and most of the things Friday had dug up was illegally acquired, which made it useless in most official settings.  
  


“Even with guidance only two of them have links that could be useful, and both of them are being coerced by HYDRA.”  
 _“By what methods?”_  
“Threats against family members.”  
  


Two files were brought up, one showing a young girl in a hospital gown, and the other a young man in a prison uniform.  
  


“Young Sarah requires weekly treatments with a very rare and expensive drug, a drug that HYDRA is threatening to use their connections to deny her, and Mr Meier is serving time for manslaughter, but my investigations indicate he was framed.”  
 _“And prison can be such a dangerous place.”_  
“Indeed.”  
“God damned...!”  
  


Tony lets out an annoyed huff that sounds almost like a bark, then trails off into grumblings when he can't find a word crude enough to fit his mood.  
  


“HYDRA..?”  
  


Yasha's suggestion is accurate, but hardly helpful, making Tony groan then offer half a smile and echo the cursed name back at him.  
  


“Fucking HYDRA indeed...”  
  


Swiping the two files to the side Tony tells Friday to look into way to get rid of HYDRA's leverage against them, prioritising the innocent girl, which meant finding a way to supply her with the medicine she needed that HYDRA couldn't touch  
Mr Meier would be trickier as he had killed two people, beaten them to death with a pipe, but circumstances around the act were questionable, he claimed to have acted to save a young rape victim, but the woman had apparently fled the scene and was never found.  
  


“How are the reactions from Interpol and other agencies looking?”  
“Very mixed, a lot of pleased reactions to being able to close the old cold cases, but a lot of grumbling about refusing to just hand over the intel on HYDRA and the demand for a secure line of communications.”  
“As expected then.”  
 _“What about the demand to only hand the information to Tony and T'Challa?”_  
“Far more negative than the general opinion. Mostly because both parties are under the Accords, and neither of them formally belong to any branch of law enforcement.”  
“Yeah, bet they don't like that very much.”  
“The general opinion is the opposite though, many comments stating that if a HYDRA target is too tough for the Winter Soldier to handle then a team of enhanced individuals acting under the Accords would be a good choice for taking them down, and most agree that HYDRA operatives are the kind of scum where the _Mozambique Drill_ is the most appropriate solution.”  
 _“Two to the body, one to the head. Works for me.”_  
  


Yasha wholeheartedly agreed with that solution to any HYDRA operatives they may run across, along with things like using the power, skills and arm, though now replaced, that they forced on him to tear into them in the most primal of ways.  
There was a certain satisfaction in employing the weapon they created to not just break their necks but rip the heads clean from the body, or to punch into the chest cavity and tear out the pitiful sham of a heart and crush it in his metal fist.  
As practical as it was to simply blow a target's brains out Yasha took a certain delight in killing up close and personal, his hands and blades, quickly learning to love the efficiency of the vibranium edged swords both in killing and instilling fear.  
  


Yasha recognized the dark thoughts and violent imagery as one of his many coping methods for dealing with the aftermath of a mission and for a moment he allowed his mind to conjure up a gruesome reel of part memories, part imagination.  
Flickering scenes from old missions, replacing the targets with HYDRA agents, both ones that were long dead, and ones they knew of but hadn't had a chance to put an end to yet, the files they had obtained off the books had so many faces to use.  
He especially focused on the ones in high positions, public faces, ones that could only be taken down either by irrefutable evidence, or the hands of a skilled assassin, ones that even this new plan wouldn't be able to touch.  
  


They would be able to put a lot of the off the books intel to use once a secure line of communication had been established, but some of these individuals were just too high up in the food chain, had too much of a public image as enemies of HYDRA.  
The Winter Soldier, even if seen only as the war hero and enemy of HYDRA that was _Bucky Barnes_ , simply wouldn't be considered reputable and credible enough to take those down outside of generating doubts in the public mind.  
Those doubts could, and would, in time erode the foundation of their power and strip away their armour, but that would take time, and being forewarned they could fight it, shore up their defences, play it off as HYDRA trying to discredit them, or simply slip away.  
  


“Earth to Yasha..?”  
  


The novelty of hearing Tony use his name like that rather than just a touch, or a nickname, brought his thoughts back to the present and he shook his head slightly to clear the images before focusing on Tony, finding him looking somewhat concerned.  
  


“Ah, there you are.”  
 _“Sorry, still got the fight rattling my brains.”_  
  


The physical effects of the mission had already dissipated as his serum enhanced body was quick to get rid of excess hormones and rebalance him once he slipped out of _Mission mode_ , but the psychological aspects still lingered.  
Since he hadn't been triggered and forced into the compliant state he retained an emotional connection to the events of the mission, and since they weren't alone there had been no way to dissipate the high the way they normally would.  
  


“Yeah, I figured as much. That full power murder face with a dreamy edge of delight usually means you're contemplating some less than savoury ways of putting an end to HYDRA trash.”  
 _“Mhm, was thinking about how much more satisfying it is to use my hands or blades rather than firearms.”_  
“You do love to make a mess.”  
“Indeed, it's fortunate that the new material for the tactical gear is highly stain resistant...”  
  


Friday's quip, and hint at the hassle of washing blood out of their gear, instantly had both of them laughing and agreeing that the worst part of their off the books side gig was getting the blood out of their gear.  
  


“It's fortunate that our resident super assassin knows to show some restraint on official missions.”  
 _“You wound me Fri.”_  
“I thought you weren't supposed to have an ego?”  
 _“It's professional pride sweetie, I am one of the best after all.”_  
“Of course.”  
  


Tony just shook his head at the teasing banter and brought the next set of documents to the central screen and voiced a pleased hum as he read the information.  
  


“There's some pretty serious chatter starting up among the Accords people, they want to approach the Winter Soldier about signing up for the HYDRA task force.”  
“That could be useful.”  
“Very...”  
  


Yasha picked up on the drop in Tony's mood and for a moment it confused him, then he realized that the likely reason was the fact that if the Accords Council moved ahead with it they would have to put it to a vote.  
A vote that would involve Tony as one of the founding members of the task force, and with the truth about the death of his parents out there now things would probably turn pretty nasty, Yasha had no doubt that some of the others would try to use it.  
He knew that Tony was aware as well, and with everything that had happened with the so called Civil War, and the way Fury had manipulated him into playing along with SHIELD and the Avengers Initiative, it would probably hit a bit too close to home.  
Politics could be vicious, and the people running the HYDRA task force were mostly political animals, and most were picked from the cream of the crop of various branches of military and law enforcement, giving them even more of an edge.  
  


Unfortunately most also had reason to resent Tony, many of them held grudges against the _Merchant of Death_ , some because he stopped making weapons, others for not being among the approved customers, or for being on the receiving end of those weapons.  
There would no doubt be demands that he recuse himself from the vote due to a conflict of interest, which was a valid concern and Yasha was pretty sure Tony would even offer it himself, the problem was those that wanted Tony off the task force.  
They would try to claim that his personal history with HYDRA made him biased, that it constituted a conflict of interest toward the task force as a whole and that he should be recused from all executive functions.  
  


If they managed to accomplish that it would be troublesome, right now it was Tony's position on the task force command group that allowed them to act so freely as it gave him the authority to create missions on his own.  
If he lost that position they would need to run all their task force missions through the command group to get them approved before acting, and while it was a far less cumbersome process than the normal Accords missions it still took time.  
An added benefit of the current arrangement was that it made it quite easy to skimp on the details of the missions after the fact, but if they had to run everything through command they would need to give out a lot of target details before even going.  
  


“ _You'll be fine, Team Phantom is too valuable to them, we get too much work done for them to risk losing us. And if they do approach about signing_ Bucky _to the task force we would demand you as handler.”_  
“I know, we have my position in there pretty secure, but I'm still not looking forward to the arguing, I'm sick of fighting people who're supposed to be my allies.”  
  


Yasha knew that Tony's mind was supplying him with images of past betrayals, snippets from a far too vast library, and far too many of them leaving him at death's door.  
  


“ _I won't allow them to attack you.”_  
“I know... But that's the least of my worries.”  
 _“I'm sorry I can't really do much beyond physical protection, the emotional parts are still...”_  
“Don't even try it Snowflake, you're a fucking miracle worker when it comes to my mental and emotional health..”  
“...”  
“You keep telling me not to sell myself short, but guess what Frosty? That goes for you too. Doctors orders.”  
 _“You're not that kind of doctor.”_  
  


Tony's almost instant crash into a full blown panic attack startled Yasha and almost sent him spiralling down the same path, scrambling to figure out what had triggered it while helping Tony find his footing, working through the grounding techniques.  
  


“Sorry...”  
 _“No, you do not get to apologize for this.”_  
“Fine...”  
 _“_ _ **I**_ _triggered this, didn't I?”_  
”Somewhat. You reminded me of Bruce, he would always complain about not being that kind of doctor whenever people wanted him to patch them up.”  
 _“You still haven't found any leads?”_  
“No, no trace of him, his gamma signature, not even any remotely credible rumours of him or the Hulk. On top of that there's no traces or sightings of the Quinjet or it's parts either. Just a whole load of fucking nothing.”  
 _“Which shouldn't be possible.”  
“...”  
_“Exactly, leaving us with the conclusion that Dr Robert Bruce Banner is no longer on Earth, or at least not on our Earth.”  
  


Friday cut in while Tony took a few deep breaths to ground himself again.  
  


“ _That would explain the total lack of any traces.”_  
“The Quinjet that Dr Banner left in was a prototype with adaptations for space flight. In addition to that we know there are multiple ways to create portals through space, as proven by Thor and Loki. There's also data indicating the existence of parallel dimensions, and ways to cross between them as well.”  
 _“Making for a very large search area...”_  
“Indeed.”  
 _“Perhaps this Gatekeeper that Loki mentioned can help?”  
_ “That could work, assuming he's still within the worlds of Yggdrasil.”  
  


Yasha brushed his left hand along Tony's spine, knowing that the touch of metal would distract him from his worrying while also offering something for his wandering mind to focus on, something to anchor it down.  
  


“ _Fri, is there anything else we need to look at before we head to bed?”_  
“Noting that can't wait until the morning.”  
 _“Alright, we're calling it a night then.”_  
“As you wish Yasha.”  
  


Tony tried to object, but found himself scooped up and carried to the bathroom which sparked all kinds of fires, fires that would have to wait as the plan for the night was already set, Loki's gift waiting for them next to the bed.  
  


“Fri, what did the instructions say about how to use these?”  
  


Tony picked up the slender metal case he had designed to hide the energy signature of the cuffs from the outside, while the built in sensors allowed Friday to monitor them for any kind of change that could indicate them activating.  
  


“The instructions said to wait to put them on until you are in bed as apparently they will magically induce sleep once activated.”  
 _“The sleep inducing effect had a six hour hard limit, correct?”_  
“Correct. The notes detail an initial high output start-up sequence to induce sleep, then a constant low level to maintain a deep, restful sleep for the body while the dream sharing is active.”  
 _“Right, and the maintenance level is not supposed to affect our ability to wake up in case something happens.”_  
“Also correct. As always, your ability to retain briefing information is quite remarkable for someone who supposedly doesn't possess perfect recall.”  
 _“The handlers and trainers were not overly fond of having to repeat information, I learned to only need to be told or shown things once.”_  
  


During his first few months with Tony the topic would have sent him into a panic, a year ago it would have left him agitated, but now Yasha found that it no longer bothered him, somewhere along the line he had let go of the pain.  
Lately he had actually been able to look back at it all with a sense of something akin to gratitude, not to the bastards who had taken him but the lessons he had been made to learn, the power those experiences had given him.  
Gratitude for the power that now allowed him to protect what mattered to him, the power that allowed him a chance to take his tormentors down and gain his freedom, the power that may just allow him a chance to atone for what he had been forced to do.  
  


“Alright, enough of that depressing topic, let's see if we can't get these to work instead.”  
 _“Agreed.”_  
  


Getting comfortable in bed they put the cuffs on and secured them, then reached over and touched the Bifrost slivers against each other to trigger the magic.  
Friday's sensors picked up on the slight spike of energy as the cuffs touched and a moment later both men were fast asleep.  
  


“Sweet dreams...”  
  


She kept the volume at a whisper before settling into a heightened sentinel mode, keeping all her sensors focused on her family, carefully looking for any sign that something was wrong, and recording everything for future review.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·Of Hopes and Dreams·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


The moment the cuffs touched things went dark, but a moment later they both found themselves looking around the bedroom, but now with the addition of Loki sitting in Yasha's chair.

“Is this a dream?”  
“It is, welcome to the Dreamscape.”  
“Fri baby?”  
“Yes Boss?”

Before Tony could ask her to run some scans Loki raised his hands slightly and shook his head.

“I'm afraid that's not actually Friday, I haven't found a way to allow her to join us. That's just a projection of your memories of her.”  
“Oh.”  
 _“Your speech, it's different...”_

When Yasha mentioned it Tony realized he was right, he had never heard Loki using contractions before and most of that old British tone had been replaced with something that sounded more like standard American English.

“That's because it's not being translated by the Allspeak. In the Dreamscape our minds are connected, what you hear is what I think. Both of you have a strong connection to the American accent, so it's what you hear.”  
 _“I can still hear some of that British accent though...”_  
“That would be the Allspeak's fault, it's been translating into what you recognise as British English so that's what you're used to hearing, and that bleeds through.”  
“If that's the case, how come Red October's still speaking Russian? Not that I'm complaining, I love the things his voice does to me when he speaks Russian.”

The obvious suggestive glint in Tony's eyes made Loki snicker at him and acknowledge that Yasha's voice definitely agreed with the Russian language in a most delicious way, a compliment that actually made Yasha blush slightly.

“Us hearing him speak Russian is a choice on his part, it's what he wants us to hear so it's what we hear. It's slightly different for me though since I don't actually speak Russian. I'm aware that he's speaking Russian, far more so than usual, actually hearing his words in Russian, but the magic of the Allspeak still translates it into the Æsir language in my mind.”  
“That's pretty cool.”  
“The magic used to share the Dreamscape is closely related to the magic of the Allspeak, allowing them to interact, giving a few added bonuses.”

While speaking Loki rose from the chair and walked over to the bed.

“How about we relocate to Asgard?”  
“Really?”  
“Of course.”

Tony scrambled out of bed in record speed while Yasha followed in a more sedate pace, an indulgent smile playing on his face.

“Showing you the Nine in a safe way that won't require a lot of time was one of my main reasons for gifting you with these. Time moves differently in here, we can spend weeks dreaming in a single night.”

Watching Tony scramble for his clothes had Loki snickering at him, then catch him by the shoulder.

“Relax, focus on your appearance, will yourself to be dressed.”

A moment later arc reactor blue flowed across Tony's form and his clothing changed from the simple black underwear into a pair of worn, torn jeans and a T-shirt with a faded print on the front.

“Now this is useful.”

Another flow of blue and the casual clothing was replaced by a sharp, three piece suit.

“I could really get used to this.”  
“With some luck it's something you may just be able to learn to do for real.”

While Tony played around with different clothes Loki watched as Yasha took it a step further, he started with replacing his own underwear with his usual black cargo pants and sleeveless compression top, then following an intuitive line of reasoning he applied the concept to his body.  
He quickly made the arm change back to the previous silver form, then turn to flesh, but he didn't keep the altered form, instead he simply watched his hand as he clenched and opened it a few times, then made it return to the darker metal that Tony had created for him  
Loki raised a questioning eyebrow at it and was rewarded with a shrug.

“ _That's not who I am any more, I haven't been that man for a very long time.”_  
“He's nothing but the one who was unmade to create you.”  
 _“Part of me, but not who I am.”_

Yasha hummed in agreement before giving Tony a tap to the back of the head to stop his flicking through about a 100 different outfits.

“ _Make up your mind.”_  
“Come on, this is fun!”  
 _“You're a peacock...”  
_ “Meanie...”

Loki just smiled at the friendly bickering, noting that Tony was showing quite a bit of talent at manipulating the Dreamscape as well, the three piece suit he donned was shimmering with impossible colours, the black base accented with glowing red and gold.

“Come, we need to be outside for the Bifrost to take us to Asgard.”  
“It needs a clear line of sight to work? That seems like a pretty big weakness...”  
“It doesn't really **need** a clear line of sight as such. Most of the passage bypasses the physical realm altogether, but the vortex as it touches down can be quite destructive.”  
“Yeah, wouldn't want you obliterating my tower to pick us up. I like my tower, I even like some of the people working in it.”

As they spoke Loki's memories of turning the Bifrost against Jötunheim surfaced and soon he found himself almost overwhelmed by the powerful surge of what could only be called remorse that slammed into him.

“Hey, what's the matter there Lokes?”  
“I told you that I tried to destroy Jötunheim before my fall into the void...”  
 _“You used the Bifrost to do it...”_  
“Yes, if kept open at full power for too long it can tear a realm apart.”  
“Makes sense, but you know that's not what I asked about.”  
“I know...”  
“You don't have to answer, but I think it might be good for all of us if you do.”

Loki considered Tony's words for a moment, part of him recoiling from the mere thought of sharing something that could be a weakness to be turned against him, but his logical mind forced that gut reaction down.  
This was not the time for an emotional reaction, especially one based on old trauma, he needed to work past that or he would never be able to fully trust his new allies even if they were worthy of his trust, and he couldn't afford that.  
One of the reasons he created the means for the shared dreaming in the first place was to give them all a means to work on trust, not just toward each other, but trust in themselves.

“I was prepared for the memories to surface while talking about the workings of the Bifrost.”

He took a deep breath before continuing.

“I wasn't prepared for it to come with all these feelings...”  
“Remorse, regret, guilt, right?”  
“...”

Tony clearly had a pretty good idea what was going on already and it made Loki hesitate a bit, he wasn't used to being read by others, but then again, Tony clearly had a lot of experience with those kinds of feelings.  
Loki had a feeling that Tony's skill at reading people had been honed both by the way his supposed allies and friends had betrayed him and by his relationship with Yasha, the man was exceptionally hard to read even when his shields were down.

“ _You weren't expecting to feel bad about it.”_

Loki hadn't expected Yasha to be the one to continue the conversation, but he realised it was probably a good thing, he was pretty sure neither of them would judge him, but Yasha's emotional control made him easy to talk to.

“I've never felt bad about killing jötnar before...”  
 _“You've never seen them as people before. Your views were so deeply ingrained that when you found out about your true heritage you viewed yourself as a monster rather than consider that they could be more.”_  
“True...”  
 _“Then Tony came along, his words made you think, pushed you to reevaluate what you believed you knew about them, and yourself.”  
_ “Also true...”  
“Not to mention, you're in a totally different frame of mind now compared to what you were back then.”

Loki nodded slowly, accepting their words as they were making a lot of sense, and somewhere deep inside they rang true, pushing him to think further.

“Killing a warrior in battle, be it up close and personal or at a distance, is not the same as turning a weapon there's no defence against on an entire realm...”

Loki's words made both Tony and Yasha step closer and offer their support, silent hands on his shoulders keeping him grounded as he worked through a line of thoughts he had never allowed himself to consider before.

“With the power you hold, the weapons you can create, do you ever feel tempted to just use them to turn your enemy to dust? Send one of those weapons to every enemy location you know of...”  
“All the time. But I have plenty of reasons not to do it that way.”  
 _“Just levelling them would mean no way of getting more information, information that can lead to previously unknown locations and it's not uncommon for the larger bases to hold prisoners.”_  
“There's also the fallout in terms of political and public opinion to consider. Something like that would definitely come back to bite me in the ass, and end up hurting Stark Industries. Which would endanger a lot of people's livelihood.”

Loki couldn't really say what possessed him to ask that particular question, and the fact that Tony answered him without any hesitation left him silent while Tony and Yasha explained a bit about what kept Tony from going all out.

“The light of your heart keeps your darkness under control.”  
“I guess you could say that.”  
 _“Not only his own darkness, but mine as well.”_

Yasha's addition made Tony grumble and start deflecting which Loki took as his cue to start nudging them toward the elevators and up to the landing pad, it was sturdy enough to serve as an excellent point to call down the Bifrost.  
Stepping out into the chill of the night air Loki motioned for Tony and Yasha to follow him to the middle of the landing pad and stand close to him before raising his face to the sky and calling out to the Gatekeeper, not that it was actually needed in the Dreamscape.

“Heimdall, open the Bifrost!”

Moments later the familiar whirl of clouds appeared in the sky and the vortex of brilliant light slammed into the landing pad, surrounding them and picking them up.

.·:*¨¨*:·Of Hopes and Dreams·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Damn, that's one hell of a psychedelic rush.”

Tony swayed slightly as the prismatic light around him faded away and left him standing inside a strange looking room, the circular floor appeared to be the rotor inside a gyroscope, the slight tension in Yasha's shoulders made it quite clear that he was affected as well.

“I'm sorry, I forgot that travel by Bifrost tends to be disorienting the first few times, especially for mortals.”  
“It's okay.”  
 _“The light and sensations, feels similar to when a memory reconnects.”_  
“Hmm?”

Loki was getting used to the sometimes odd reactions of the pair so he just hummed in question.

“Maybe it would have triggered something if it had been actual physical input and not just a dream?”  
 _“It's possible.”_  
“Guess we have to add that to the list of things to try later.”

With a shake of his head Loki let his power rise slightly, a gentle pulse to draw their attention and once they were both looking at him he spread his hands wide in a gesture of greeting before offering a slight bow of respect, welcoming them as royalty.

“Welcome to Asgard, this is Himinbjorg, the Grand Observatory of Asgard and the heart of the Bifrost. From here the Gatekeeper watches over the Nine and from here the Bifrost is directed to where it's needed.”  
“You've got a bit of a steampunk vibe going on here, I like it.”  
 _“It's beautiful.”  
_ “Thank you...” _  
_

Loki was slightly surprised when the unguarded wonder brought with it a surge of warmth, and the words of praise triggered a sense of pride he hadn't expected to ever feel in regards to Asgard again.

“Come, let's head to the palace, we can visit Himinbjorg again later.”  
“Okay.”  
“I hope you know how to ride a horse.”

There was a distinct teasing tone in Loki's voice as they stepped out of the observatory and were met by a handful of mounted guards, and three riderless horses, one of them clearly Sleipnir based on the double set of limbs.

“Yeah, horseback riding was included in the rich kid package. Mom enjoyed it so she would bring me along to the country club when she went there to ride. Don't recall ever riding one quite this huge though...”  
“These horses are bred to carry warriors into battle, they need to be large and strong. The Einherjar's steeds are also bred for their coat colour.”  
“Yeah, kinda figured that with how they are all the same shiny golden colour.”

If Tony recalled his lessons correctly the colour was called bay pearl, but the horses the guards were riding had a deep gold shine he doubted was possible in Earth breeds.

“How about you Yasha?”

Loki put his hand on Sleipnir's shoulder to keep him from prancing about rather than alter the behaviour of the dream projection.

“ _The Asset was required to be able to use any means of transportation that was available, which included riding a variety of mounts, and driving animal drawn vehicles.”_

Tony instantly perked up at Yasha's words, something clearly drawing his attention.

“Did they teach you how to mush?”  
 _“They did.”  
_ “Cool. We totally have to go do that someday.”

Loki just shook his head at their antics, and broke into a wide smile when Tony yelped in surprise as Yasha grabbed him and tossed him onto the back of the blue roan before mounting the dark bay himself.  
He swung into Sleipnir's saddle with practised ease and took the lead with Tony and Yasha behind him, then the guards bringing up the back.

“ _That's a lot of gold...”_  
“A bit ostentatious don't you think? And yeah, that's from the guy who built a huge tower and put his name on it.”  
“It definitely is. Almost all of this wealth is tribute paid by the other realms after being subjugated by Asgard, the truth hidden away in history.”

This time the warm pride that simmered below Loki's skin was mixed with the burning heat of shame, shame for how Asgard had gained its wealth, and how it insisted on putting it on display, and the pride was in his allies for speaking up.

“The outer city looks nice though.”  
“I believe you would enjoy the markets.”  
“Maybe when it's real so I can get some souvenirs.”  
“Naturally.”

In that moment Loki decided he would try to convince Hugin and Munin to carry more packages to Midgard, finding himself curious to see how Tony and Yasha would react to various toys and trinkets from the markets.

“For now, let's retreat to **my** workshop, there are a few things I want to teach you about the Dreamscape, what it can do, and what the limitations and risks are.”  
“Risks? You mean stuff like if we get hurt in here we get hurt in the real world?”  
“Ah, no. That's one of the benefits of the Dreamscape, even if you get killed in here it won't have any lasting effect. For the most part experiences in the Dreamscape won't have any more effect on you than regular dreaming.”  
 _“Spikes in heart and respiratory rates as well as fluctuations in hormone levels.”_

Yasha calmly listed the common physical reactions during dreaming.

“Nocturnal emissions.”  
 _“Gutterbrain.”_

Tony's quip wasn't properly translated by the Allspeak, but the mental entanglement of the Dreamscape in conjunction with Yasha's reaction, the meaning of his words easy to understand despite the verbatim translation of the expression.

“ _So, bottom line, the worst that can happen in that regard is that we bolt awake with a racing heart and have a bitch of a time getting back to sleep?”_  
“Yes.”  
 _“And the risks?”_

Loki wasn't the least bit surprised that Yasha pushed for answers while Tony gawked at their surroundings, though he could tell that most of Yasha's attention was on their surroundings as well.

“The main risk, especially if staying for an extended amount of time, is a form of information overload when exiting the Dreamscape.”  
 _“Because of the time dilation effect you mentioned?”_  
“Yes, the mind tends to have a hard time reconciling the amount of information and memories received with the instinctive awareness of the amount of time that has passed.”  
“I think we might be a bit better off than your average guy with that.”

Tony had clearly been paying attention to their conversation despite his fascination with the city around them.

“Oh?”  
 _“Because of our work with the BARF system, as we grew more experienced with using it we were able to accelerate the playback of memories.”  
_ “It will give you one hell of a nasty headache during a shared session though if your mental processing speed is too far apart. Just one of the many ways BARF makes good on its name.” _  
_“I get a feeling the two of you have managed to make it work.”  
“Yeah, both of us are capable of taking in large amounts of information in a very short time so we can handle it pretty well.”  
 _“Our processing speed exceeds the maximum rate that BARF is currently capable of, so we can just run it at maximum compression rate, even during our shared sessions.”_

It took a moment for Loki to sort through what they were saying, translations of specialized terminology was always a bit of a hassle, even if it wasn't quite as bad while in the shared Dreamscape.  
The material he had studied together with Friday helped a lot as well and he made a note to thank her for insisting that he learn about topics related to computers and technology first as a means to better understand her capabilities.  
Thanks to that he understood what Tony and Yasha were talking about, and knew what questions to ask for further clarification.

“And this compression rate is?”  
“Current limit is 100 to 1.”  
“So 100 minutes worth of memories would be experienced in the lapse of a single minute?”  
“Exactly.”  
“That should definitely help you deal with the information integration when you wake up.”  
 _“This will imprint to memory as if it really happened, right? Not as the disjointed, broken up, rapidly fading mess that normal dreams usually generate?”_  
“Yes, that's one of the benefits of the Dreamscape.”

Tony's soft whistle was clearly meant to express a sense of awe which had Loki pay extra attention to the words that followed.

“That's one hell of a benefit. Just imagine if something like this could be implemented at a larger scale in areas like for instance advanced schooling. Weeks worth of specialised seminars, lectures and classes available not just at distance, but compressed into a single night. It could even allow some experimentation if the teachers are good enough to create a realistic environment.”

Loki froze at Tony's words, the ease with which he made leaps that the Æsir would never consider was astounding, to use this kind of magic to make sharing knowledge on a larger scale was not something scholars of the other realms would have considered.  
Even he himself had only thought of it on a smaller scale, to share knowledge with Tony and Yasha, but when Tony mentioned it as a means to rapidly teach specialised knowledge to a large group separated by geographical distance it made perfect sense.

“A means to rapidly teach and train gifted individuals in specialised fields, especially fields with very few tutors available...”  
 _“And it would be an excellent way to exchange ideas as well.”_  
“Exactly, just imagine how much faster you'd be able to solve an issue if all the experts in the appropriate fields could just go to bed and cram days, even weeks worth of brainstorming into a few hours of nap time.”  
“That's an idea that carries a lot of merit. I'll have to study the methods more in depth, if it's possible to do what you suggest it could turnout to be a valuable tool.”  
“I guess it could be a bit of a pain in the ass though since everyone would need a pair of those cuffs and I have a feeling they took a lot of work to create...”

Tony's disappointed sigh instantly shattered Loki's plan to wait to tell them that the cuffs were more than just a tool to access the shared Dreamscape.

“They did, but that's because they are more than just a means to access a shared Dreamscape, a simple charm could accomplish that.”  
“So why those?”  
“A gift made with materials gathered from all of the Nine has symbolic value, a gift with rare, hard to find materials even more so, providing proof of skill, power and wealth.”  
“Like a courting gift?”

Loki had to fight down the urge to curse as Tony instantly figured out the implications of such a gift.

“That's the traditional, and most common, application of such gifts, but showing off your abilities isn't all that uncommon when seeking alliances. I figured I might as well kill two birds with one stone as you Midgardians say, provide a means to enter the Dreamscape and proof of my worth to our fledgling alliance with a single gift.”  
 _“Along with the potential to become something more in line with its original application in the future...”_  
“...”

There was quite a long silence before Loki replied with a somewhat hesitant _Potentially_ , unsure of how the implications would be received, but Yasha just nodded in acceptance and Tony offered a shrug, playing at indifference.

As they reached the inner courtyard Loki dismounted and handed the reins to one of the waiting servants before turning to Tony and Yasha.

“Just leave the horses with the servants, they'll bring them back to the stables to be cared for.”

Loki carefully slowed his steps as they walked toward the royal wing, matching his pace to Tony's as he calmly answered the constant stream of questions about the various items on display.

“Are those frost giants?”  
“Yes, that tapestry depicts Odin leading the forces of Asgard against the forces of Jötunheim as they attempt to invade Midgard.”  
“When did that happen?”  
“About a thousand of your years ago, at the coast just south of what is now Oslo, Norway.”  
“Guessing you guys won that one.”  
“The battle was a great success, driving the jötnar back to Jötunheim, and in the following battle Odin defeated Laufey, ending the war. Odin allowed the fallen king to live, but took the Casket of Ancient Winters, the key to Jötunheim's power.”

Loki's voice trailed off, the knowledge of what else Odin took from Jötunheim that day still haunted him.

“That's when Odin took you...”  
“He claims he saved a runt left to die in one of the temples. But now, I'm not so sure if that's true, and with Laufey dead and Jötunheim razed, both by my hands, there is little hope to ever find out if there is any truth to that claim.”  
 _“Laufey was your father, right?”_  
“Yes. The fact that Odin knew this speaks against his claim that I was a foundling, a runt left out to die.”  
 _“In many earth cultures temples and churches are considered sanctuaries, even in wartime. And there's a long standing tradition to hide children there to keep them safe.”_  
“...”  
“Is it even confirmed that you're actually a runt?”  
“The fact that I'm considerably smaller than the jötnar I've come across does seem to confirm that part of the story.”  
“But Odin used magic on you to make you look Æsir, right? Maybe that affected your growth. Or maybe jötnar come in more than one size?”

Once again Tony asks the questions that Loki had been stubbornly refusing to ask himself.

“It's possible...”  
 _“A question, the frost giants you have come across, they were all warriors, right?”_  
“Yes.”  
 _“Is it possible that their magic users are smaller?”_  
“Considering how little is known of them outside of their realm, anything is possible.”

Loki sighed, the lack of available information left him frustrated.

“How about we table that conversation until later?”

Tony and Yasha both nodded and dropped the topic in favour of asking more questions about the Palace as Loki guided them toward his old rooms, and one of the gateways that would bring them to his hidden workshop.

“ _Now this particular flavour of organised chaos looks familiar.”_

Yasha's teasing quip as they entered the workshop had both Tony and Loki glaring at him and grumbling about how their workshop was perfectly arranged to their needs, complaints that only made Yasha shake his head and tut.

.·:*¨¨*:·Of Hopes and Dreams·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Damn, this is one fancy looking desk.”

Tony taps his finger against the surface of the heavy desk, marvelling at how the colour shifts and changes, the various hues of red, orange and yellow on a black base making it look like glowing embers.

“It's Emberwood, a fairly rare tree native to Muspelheim. The colour makes it quite valuable.”  
“Wait, you telling me this colour is natural?”  
“Mhm...”

Loki just offered an amused hum at Tony's reaction to his desk, and shook his head at the cursing that followed.

“Come, make yourself comfortable. We have quite a few lessons to go through.”

Loki motioned toward a raised platform covered in pillows and furs and with a flick of his hand trays with food and drinks appeared in swirls of green and gold, a display that was nothing but a display of will and control while within the Dreamscape.  
Outside of it such a display was a bit more complicated, conjuring something out of nothing was impossible, not in the way Midgardian science believed though, they believed that energy was separate from matter and that the sum of both was constant.  
In reality the two were bound together, matter could be turned into energy, and energy could be turned into matter, a magic user with sufficient skill and understanding of the nature of matter could freely convert reality between the two states.  
The conversion of energy to matter came with a high cost though, so contrary to what some believed a magic user couldn't just feed themselves indefinitely using their magic, but Loki had occasionally conjured food for others during his travels.

It was a long time ago now, but during his adolescence he would sometimes sneak away to Midgard on his own, spending time with remote tribes where magic was something to be venerated, even then seeking a sense of approval that Asgard refused him.  
Some of his fondest memories were of accompanying youths and aspiring mystics on their quests, their rites of passage, and sometimes he would sacrifice some of his power to conjure food and water for those companions.  
Despite Asgard's strong connection to the old Norse tribes Loki had always had an affinity to the cultures of the Native American tribes, their reverence for their trickster spirits, the Coyote and the Raven, forms he sometimes borrowed.

Shaking the thoughts from his mind he watched Tony and Yasha shuffle about, then mock wrestle for a bit before Yasha came out on top, claiming his victory with a harsh kiss before tucking Tony tightly against his left, metal arm curling possessively around the smaller man.  
There was a raw edge, something painfully close to desperation, to the interaction that helped Loki make up his mind about where to start their lessons, they clearly needed some help to get past their fears of hurting each other.  
He might not be able to do much about Tony's fear of unduly affecting Yasha's development, but he could use the nature of the Dreamscape to help Yasha work on, and eventually overcome, his fear of losing control and harming Tony.

Loki's will was currently shaping the Dreamscape into Asgard, drawing from his memories, both conscious and subconscious, making the environment and the denizens respond as if they were actually in Asgard.  
There was one major difference from the real Asgard though, within the Dreamscape Loki held the throne as himself, without the need for Odin's face, an intentional manipulation away from how things would happen in the real world.  
Thanks to the cuffs Tony and Yasha maintained their true self, their reactions the same as they would have been if exposed to the same events in reality, including potential loss of control, something that could be used to help them.  
If Loki played this right he should be able to get Tony and Yasha to experiment within the safety of the Dreamscape, allowing Yasha to see that he wouldn't harm Tony by bedding him.

He knew how worried Yasha was, and he had been told enough during the interrogation of the female HYDRA doctor for him to know why, but Loki was convinced that there was no way that Yasha would harm Tony even if he did lose control.  
There was no way the bond the two shared would allow for that, and Loki was equally convinced that even if Yasha was somehow triggered into his former Asset state and ordered to harm or kill Tony he would be unable to comply.

“There are so many things I want to show you, but for now, I need to teach you more about how the Dreamscape works. What it can do, how it can be used. And how it might help you heal.”  
“Heal?”  
“Patience, we'll get to that once we have the basics down.”  
“You're a tease.”  
 _“Only figuring that out now? I thought you were supposed to be a genius.”_  
“Stuff it Terminator.”

Loki barely managed to resist the urge to roll his eyes at their teasing quips, and when they looked like they were about to delve into another wrestling match he reached out for the power of the Dreamscape and conjured a glass of ice cold water.  
With a flick of his wrist he dumped the glass over Yasha's head, making sure not to get any on Tony, and was rewarded with a hiss that morphed into an outright growl as Yasha's focus shifted before pouncing.  
Tony's bright laughter when Yasha started cursing as he found himself trying to grapple with a huge snake was contagious and with a few twists of the lithe body of his borrowed form Loki had them both squished together, unable to free themselves.

“Are you ready to listen to the lessons now?”

As usual Tony squirms and grumbles, while Yasha goes still, no doubt conserving his energy while silently observing, instinct and training telling him to gather information while looking for an opening to get free, and Loki finds himself studying as well.  
He knows that both his _victims_ share the same goal, freeing themselves from his hold, but their tactics for achieving said goal displays an almost startling contrast, where Yasha goes still and silent Tony quips and snipes.  
Loki knows better than to believe Tony to be any less observant though, his behaviour is confident and chaotic, but Loki can feel the observant edge beneath it all, sees the distraction for what it is, a display to placate the enemy.

“Aww, but we're having so much fun.”

Tony pouts and whines, but his eyes are bright with amusement.

“Mastering these lessons would let you have a lot more fun later.”  
“What if I prefer instant gratification?”  
“I guess you'll just have to learn to live with the disappointment.”  
“Such a cruel fate.”

There is something about the situation that sets Loki on edge with a sense of foreboding, and when Tony glances at Yasha Loki realises that the false arm has gone silent, the usual lazy motions of the plates now almost eerily still.  
The next moment both men explode into action and their combined effort allows them to slip his grip, but rather than try to recapture them he abandons the serpent form and gives in to the urge to laugh, and a moment later Tony and Yasha join in.

Once they calm down again Loki is finally able to begin the lessons and once he does he has their full attention, their eagerness to learn and sharp questions soothe scars Loki does not want to acknowledge, and it stirs some rather conflicting emotions.  
But mostly he found himself once again considering how different they were from the Æsir, once again seeing how stagnant Asgard had become, resistant not only to change, but to knowledge, too assured of their own superiority.  
In his dealings with the various treaties he can see the same in the representatives from the other realms as well, but that could be from having to deal with who they believed to be Odin, compared to those Midgard was pure chaos.  
Most of the Midgardians, humans he reminded himself, were still overwhelmingly underwhelming, showing the same lack of ambition, willingly just milling about, letting their short lives waste away, but the ones who were different, they were a sight to behold.

Though even then Tony's mind was one of a kind, constantly flitting about, but Yasha was no dolt either, he was quick on the uptake with a dangerously keen eye for patterns and details, and a knack for razor sharp questions to fill in any blanks.  
Loki couldn't really tell how much was nature and how much was nurture, or at least HYDRA's twisted version of it, other than the fact that Tony had mentioned that Yasha's skill with the Midgardian long range rifles required a sharp mind.  
A sharpness that HYDRA had honed for their own purposes, and now Yasha was doing the same for himself, and his mission.

“Looking a bit distracted there Maleficent...”  
“That would be because I am.”  
“Care to share?”

The question was familiar, and it was one Loki had grown to appreciate, mostly because it was always just a somewhat backwards offer, it never came with any expectations, and for once he decided that yes, he did feel like sharing some of his thoughts.

“I find myself growing increasingly resentful toward not just the throne, but Asgard itself.”  
 _“But you can't leave without risking the plan.”_

Yasha's accurate assessment was a relief, and it allowed Loki to push on.

“Asgard needs a strong ruler who is willing to cooperate with the other realms, one who is willing to work even with Jötunheim and Muspelheim.”

Loki sighed, recalling all the candidates he had considered, and rejected.

“ _Thor, under your guidance.”_

The look on Tony's face made it obvious had come to the same conclusion, Yasha had simply spoken first.

“Ideally, he's not trained as a mage, but he has magic of his own and a strong connection to the power of Asgard. His time on Midgard has changed him enough for there to be hope that he can learn to be the king Asgard and the Nine needs.”  
“But Thor's missing...”  
“Alive, but lost somewhere beyond the Nine.”

Loathe as he was to admit it, Loki actually missed having Thor around, even if he found himself unable to call him brother, for now at least, his time with Tony and Yasha had lit something akin to hope, hint of a possibility.  
It would never be what it had once been, what had been while he believed them to be blood brothers, before he became disillusioned, but maybe they could find a common ground that could allow them to build a new kind of brotherhood.  
Loki has a feeling they notice, but thankfully neither of them mentions it.

“Even if he is found today I would have to carefully groom him, educate him in the ways of diplomacy and compromise, sand down and polish some of those edges, make sure he has mastered the art of biding his time, things Odin never bothered with.”  
“Because Odin intended to use you for that...”

And if that hadn't been a tough truth to see, much less accept.

“Indeed, a _Shadow Prince_ to covertly handle all those things the people have been taught to see as unbecoming for a _Warrior King_. An advisor to whisper in the ear of his _Golden Son_ when needed, never given credit, but always served blame regardless if any advice was given or not.”

Loki startled slightly as two pairs of hands settled on him, anchors to keep his mind grounded.

“ _Do you intend to tell Thor the truth?”_  
“I...”

Loki hesitated, then sighed, he knew he would have to if he wanted his plans to work.

“Eventually I'd have to. Hopefully the way Asgard has prospered, the improved relations between the Nine, and the threat of the Mad Titan, will stay his hand long enough for him to actually listen.”

Loki had his doubts though, keeping still and listening had never been Thor's strong suit, he was far more prone to flying off the handle without bothering to get all the information.

“If there's anything we can do to help, don't hesitate to ask.”  
“Help how?”

Tony's offer instantly had Loki's interest piqued.

“I have a few ideas. But the one I like the most is me inviting Thor to the tower and revealing that you're alive, then giving him some time to process that before arranging a meeting on what could be argued as neutral grounds. That way he'd have a chance to think things through and get a handle on his emotions before you actually meet face to face.”  
“That, could actually work...”  
 _“It would also allow you to test him a bit, see if he goes running to Odin with the information.”_  
“That would come in handy, but what if he speaks out of turn, revealing your knowledge to your authorities? Wouldn't that cause trouble for you?”  
“Nothing I can't handle, especially not with some time to set things up.”

Tony sounds confident, but Loki can see a flicker of worry cross his features and it barely takes him a moment to realise the reason for it, Tony was afraid that Thor would ally himself with the Rogues, a fear Loki could understand.  
He had heard what Thor had done to Tony during the Ultron incident, the behaviour leaving him furious, and he damn well intended to make Thor pay restitution for his dishonourable behaviour.

“Thor may be a hotheaded fool, but he wouldn't condone the Captain's actions.”  
 _“He did lift Tony by the throat when upset about the Ultron incident.”_  
“Which was way out of line, especially when dealing with a mortal. When dealing with an Æsir something like that wouldn't do much damage, but lashing out would still be inappropriate. However, the way the Captain betrayed someone he claimed to be a shield-brother is something he would never stand for.”

Tony's expression slowly settled back down to calm while Loki spoke, but Yasha retained the slight edge of danger, a familiar glint of possessiveness and protectiveness setting his eyes aglow with a different kind of ice.

.·:*¨¨*:·Of Hopes and Dreams·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“There is one last thing I would like to teach you about the Dreamscape, something that combines the other lessons into something I believe could be very useful for you two.”

Loki was a bit torn about the final lesson, he had a feeling Tony would be particularly childish about the topic, but he wouldn't put it beyond Yasha either, as serious as he usually was he could be just as bad as Tony when the mood struck.

“Hmm?”  
“The Dreamscape can be used in a way similar to your BARF, but instead of reliving, and altering, memories to work through trauma you can create scenarios to test how you would react to various situations.”

So far neither of them had caught on to what Loki's endgame with the lessons was, but he doubted it would take very long.

“This way you can test yourself, test if a situation would cause you to be triggered, or lose control.”  
 _“And the reactions would be accurate?”_  
“It's you in here, unless you intentionally alter your reactions things will play out as they would in reality.”  
 _“And it's safe...”_  
“Other than it potentially turning into a nightmare, it's perfectly safe.”

Loki could see the moment Yasha caught on, a teasing amusement began playing around his eyes, but beyond that his face remained impassive, not that it did anything to hide the way Yasha's mind was turning, mischief practically radiating off him.  
The electrifying feel of his own aspect drew Loki's attention, and the smouldering hunger that joined it added something almost mesmerizing to the ripple of movement along Yasha's arm as the plates shifted and realigned when he moved the arm behind Tony.  
The soft whirrs and click of the arm allowed Loki to track the motion as Yasha ran his fingers along Tony's spine before settling at the small of his back and teasing the sensitive skin there, and Tony's soft gasp was very telling.  
A few moments later Tony's eyes widened in understanding, then all of him, expression, posture, energy, shifted into something shamelessly salacious.

“I must admit, I've had quite a few very interesting dreams that all started something like this.”

Loki's centuries of experience in controlling his every reaction was the only thing that kept his own body from visibly reacting to the rather obvious suggestion.


	22. The Power of a Name

.·:*¨¨*:·The Power of a Name·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


The teasing continued, but never crossed over into action, and Loki couldn't make up his mind if he was relieved, or disappointed, he also wasn't entirely sure if it was the idea of observing, or participating that was the most tempting.  
Maybe a combination, he had noticed that both men were willing to submit and allow themselves to be guided by the voice of the other, maybe they would be willing to allow him to join them in a less physical way.  
Perhaps they would be open to the idea of allowing him to watch them and guide them, conduct their dance, open to allowing him to use his voice, maybe even a touch of magic, to direct their actions as they pleasured each other.  
Loki allowed himself a moment to enjoy the idea before pushing it aside, it was definitely something he would have to approach them about later, but that would have to wait at least until next time they met within the Dreamscape.  
It was far too soon, but unfortunately he could sense the first signs of overexposure to the Dreamscape in their energies, meaning it was time for the dream to end, he didn't want to increase the risk of them having an adverse reaction.  
  


“As much fun as this has been, we need to get you back into the real world. It's not good to push too hard the first few times in the Dreamscape.”  
  


The reactions to Loki's announcement were as expected, Tony pouted and complained while Yasha gave a slight nod in acceptance.  
  


“When you wake you will need to wait a week before you try to enter the Dreamscape again. Even if you don't notice any negative effects.”  
“Gotta give these poor mortal brains of ours time to recover and adjust to being exposed to all this magic crap.”  
“It doesn't matter if you are human or Æsir, if you have magic or not, everyone needs a few sessions to get used to the effects of the Dreamscape.”  
“I know, I just...”  
  


Tony sighed and ran his hands through his hair, his feelings on magic were conflicted at the best of days, and it was a major sore spot for Loki.  
  


“Magic's kinda growing on me, but I still hate it.”  
  


Tony could see the light in Loki's eyes dim slightly, no doubt jumping to conclusions based on how the Æsir had held his magic against him.  
  


“Hey! No jumping to shit before I'm done talking. Remember that human expression about assumptions.”  
“...”  
  


Most of the tension remained, but at least Loki didn't seem like he was about to leave or lash out any more.  
  


“I've always prided myself on knowing enough about what makes shit tick to be able to predict outcomes and assess risks. Always believed in the laws of nature, of physics. They're supposed to be absolute and at least _mostly_ known, then comes magic and doesn't just completely rewrite them, but does it in a brand new language.”  
“You feel as if magic has taken your world away from you...”  
“I...”  
  


Tony's voice trailed off, he didn't know how to explain the conflicting feelings, magic was something amazing, the sheer scope of possibilities it opened up had his creative mind soaring, but the sudden way it had changed all the rules left him feeling adrift.  
Magic had hurt a lot of people, both directly and indirectly, including his loved ones, and there had been nothing he could do to prevent it, not understanding how it worked he had no idea where to even begin, leaving him feeling powerless.  
  


“My first experience with magic was it bringing an alien invasion to my home, hurting a lot of people, some of them mine...”  
  


Loki flinched slightly when Tony found his words, there was a haunting tone of resignation in his voice as he spoke that just felt so utterly wrong, there was no trace of the fire and defiance he always displayed in the face of his enemies.  
There was no hint of the burning chill of Tony's vindictive side either, and it had been a constant sensation that his magic sense registered as something cold and dark across the surface of Tony's aura, waning and waxing, but always there.  
Loki's ability to mentally visualize energies had given him the image of a deep red, so dark it was almost black, spreading over the surface like frost on a pane of glass, forming hauntingly beautiful patterns, deceptively soft ferns and feathers mixed with jagged spikes.  
The lack of the usual fire and ice made Loki want to reach out with the fire of his magic nature and reignite him, encase him in the ice of his blood nature.  
  


“I had no means of fighting it. I couldn't even find a way to study it before it was too late...”  
  


That had perhaps been the toughest blow for Tony to deal with, he had always been able to use his intelligence to fight and protect, but magic rewrote all the rules, left him stumbling in the dark to even find a way to study it.  
  


“For what little it's worth, I **am** sorry for my part in that. I'll teach you as much as I can. It won't undo the past, but it might be enough for you to keep them safe in the future.”  
“Did you really have enough agency to have something to apologize for?”  
  


Loki recognized the tone, the edge in Tony's words, the sharp sting of them as they cut into old scars, seeking to cut away the gnarled and malformed tissue to give them a chance to heal properly.  
  


“The control the mind stone exerts is different from that born from the methods used on Yasha, it's more subtle, twisting motivations and loyalties rather than stealing away agency.”  
“You were tortured and had your mind warped by a magical artefact that's supposedly one of the most powerful in existence, I'd say that's enough to consider your agency severely compromised.”  
“...”  
  


Loki's mind is so caught up in trying to refute Tony's words that he startles badly when a calloused hand softly cups his face and gently makes him turn and look at its owner.  
  


“Don't do that Mischief.”  
“Do what?!”  
  


He instantly regretted the snapped out words, but Tony doesn't seem to be bothered by the edge of venom in the tone.  
  


“Playing the blame game might be tempting, might even feel good for a while, but it won't help anyone, won't solve anything. I know it wasn't the same, but I don't blame you for the invasion any more than I blame Yasha for my parents.”  
  


Loki found himself struggling not to lash out again, he didn't want to, but it was a deeply ingrained reaction, the gentle touch against his face did help though.  
  


“ _If you're looking for absolution, then forget about regrets and focus on reparation and restitution.”  
_

Yasha spoke before Loki had a chance to, and the words helped take a bit more of the edge off, then Tony changed the subject with his usual theatrical flair.  
  


“How about we try to focus on ending this on a happier note?”  
 _“He does have a point.”  
_ “That he does.”  
  


Loki agreed with a sigh.  
  


“How about a change of scenery?”  
  


There was one spot in Asgard that he really wanted to show the pair before they left the Dreamscape, it was one of his favourites.  
  


“Alright.”  
 _“Sounds good.”_  
“You might want to close your eyes or it could get rather disorienting.”  
  


They both closed their eyes without hesitation and with a thought Loki altered the Dreamscape, bringing them to the mouth of a hidden cave deep in the mountains, from there the jagged roots of Asgard could be accessed.  
But this time it was the spectacular view of the night sky that was his goal, the way the power of Yggdrasil bleed through added colour and motion to the nebulas and stars, giving life to a view far more vivid than anything Midgard could present.  
  


He had to admit though that the night sky of Midgard could be quite beautiful as well if one travelled away from the light of the cities to where the light of the galaxy could be seen, spreading like a band of light and colour across the night.  
As unimaginative as it was, Loki could understand why most of the mortal languages referred to it as the Milky Way, though from what he had been told most were just translations from one of Midgard's old languages.  
There were other names he much preferred though, some of the Asian lands called it the Silver River, some passages of the texts of their Christianity called it the River of Light, and for its prominence in the winter sky, the Scandinavian and Icelandic languages called it the Winter Way.  
  


“You can look now.”  
  


Loki carefully studied their reactions as both men remained still, then the silence was broken by Yasha's odd mixture of soft and gruff.  
  


“ _It's beautiful.”_  
  


Tony however remained still and tense and after a few moments Loki realized his mistake, remembered whispered words of nightmares about space seen through the Tesseract portal, of vision forced by malicious magic.  
He was just about to change the scene when Tony relaxed with a sigh.  
  


“I didn't think I would ever be able to look into space again without being reminded of what I saw in that portal...”  
  


It was easy for Loki to understand the depth hidden behind those words, what Tony had seen may not be the same as the void he had been falling through, the void between galaxies where the Chitauri army had been was different from the void between realms where Loki had been lost.  
  


“It doesn't matter if you are mortal or god, mayfly or eternal, truly seeing the void changes you, it forms a connection. That connection leaves you with a lingering spark of emptiness that can never truly be filled, marking you as voidtouched.”  
 _“Marking_ _ **us**_ _...”_  
“Indeed. Marking all of us, setting us apart.”  
  


Loki didn't mention how the touch of the void seemed to burn away at the sanity of those marked by it, he had long since known that sanity seemed to be a fickle companion among the brightest of minds.  
  


“So much for that lighter note...”  
  


The self deprecation was easily identified in Tony's voice and posture, telling both Loki and Yasha that he was blaming himself, his trauma from the portal and the witch's visions, for the latest drop in overall mood and detour to darker topics.  
  


If someone asked, Loki wouldn't be able to say what compelled him to move in on Tony, slowly stepping closer, making his target move with a gentle but firm push, a handful of measured steps before his back connected against Yasha's chest.  
With a quick glance Loki searched Yasha's eyes for any sign of objections to what he was doing but found none, instead there was a calm acceptance mixed with hints of amusement and curiosity, a moment later Yasha moved, tilting his head slightly and raising an eyebrow as if in question.  
The way the ice and steel of his eyes shifted told Loki a different story though, he watched as the calm acceptance gave way to smouldering desire when the gaze shifted to the man between them, and with it came a flickering warmth that could be nothing but love.  
When the curiosity gained an edge of almost eager anticipation, Loki reached out and took hold of Yasha's shoulders, and a moment later he could feel strong hands grasping his own arms, locking the smaller man between them.  
  


Tony can feel his pulse pick up as Loki's stance shifts into something predatory, even before he starts moving, and those carefully measured steps, the air of a prowling predator does nothing to remedy that predicament.  
Loki's gait is as different from Yasha's, from what he has fondly dubbed the murder strut, as day and night, but the image it paints is no less powerful as it eats the distance between them with relentless purpose, all power and a hunter's focus.  
The raw focus of Yasha's power gave his steps a heavy feel despite being every bit as silent as his ghost moniker would suggest, and the stiff anchoring and sheer weight of his old arm had added a distinct sway that remained even now despite the new arm.  
Loki's lithe form and inhuman flexibility gave his gait a sinuous flow, like a stalking feline, but there was an edge of something almost serpentine to it as well, not just in the flow of the motions but the energy he held, like a coiled up snake about to strike.  
  


Tony quickly found himself cursing the almost electric bolts racing down his spine, feeding the coiling heat in his belly, cursing his own kinks as the feeling of being the focus of all that power, that edge of danger, set him on fire.  
A flash of green drew his attention to Loki's eyes, and he instantly found himself trapped in the brilliant glow as magic rose around them, coiling around him and nudging his body to move to allow the soldier, and the mage, to press even closer.  
He could feel the tingle of magic across his skin as it moved around him, could feel as it grew heavier, more focused, collecting around his head, sliding across his face, like hands gently holding him in place, tilting his head back.  
  


Tony's mind, everything around him, it all seemed to grind to a halt as Loki leaned in toward him, even the sensation of Yasha trailing nibbling kisses along his neck wasn't enough to draw his attention away, all that existed was those green eyes moving closer.  
Tony knew what was about to happen, and the heat within coiled tighter in anticipation, then as cool lips brushed against his own that coil, his mind, the world, everything around them seemed to explode into brilliant light, then fade into darkness.  
  


Loki could feel the moment Tony disconnected from the Dreamscape, too overwhelmed by his own emotions, and a moment later Yasha's energy vanished as well, the pair bound together by devotion and fate.  
The dream images of Tony and Yasha remained, still moving based on the information the magic had gathered one them, but they were empty, nothing but puppets, reflections and shadows which left Loki with a sense of wrongness that made him disconnect from the dream as well.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·The Power of a Name·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Tony wakes up with the ghost of a headache crawling along the back of his skull, but it's quickly forgotten in the face of the fact that he's painfully hard and pinned tightly against Yasha's body, revealing that his serum enhanced companion is in the same condition.  
  


“Boss! Yasha!”  
  


Friday's worried tone instantly had both of them forgetting all about the baser urges of their bodies and focused their attention on finding out what had her so upset.  
  


“What's the matter Fri?”  
“Both your vitals suddenly started fluctuating.”  
“Don't worry sweetie, that's apparently normal when waking from this shared dreaming.”  
“If you're sure...”  
  


The tone was calmer, but it was obvious she was still worrying.  
  


“ _Loki explained it to us while in the dream.”_  
“Would you..?”  
“Of course we'll explain Fri baby.”  
 _“I'll get us something to drink.”_  
  


While Yasha headed to the kitchen to make some smoothies to help replenish the hormones and neurotransmitters spent by their bodies while dreaming, hopefully it would be as effective at countering the headache as it was when using BARF.  
  


“From what Loki explained the inclusion of magic doesn't change the physical reactions related to intense dreaming, and because more time passes in the dream than outside it, we get the same kind of reactions as with the compressed BARF sessions.”  
“What about risks?”  
“No more than normal dreaming, maybe a bit more intense, but the same kind of reactions. Startling awake from nightmares, possibly triggering one of our oh so delightful episodes...”  
“You trust this information?”  
“Yeah, I actually do.”  
“Okay.”  
  


Tony continued to explain what Loki had taught them about the Dreamscape and what it could do until Yasha returned with water, smoothies, fruit, and some salty treats to help combat the headaches and the conversation quickly shifted to what they had seen in the dream.  
It didn't take long before the conversation settled on the final scene of the dream, about the reactions, feelings, it had stirred, in both of them.  
  


“ _See, I told you he was interested.”_  
“You sure you're okay with that?”  
  


When Yasha didn't answer right away Tony reached out and placed a hand on his right shoulder, drawing his attention.  
  


“ _As long as he doesn't hurt you, or try to turn you against me.”_  
“I won't ever let anyone do that!”  
  


Tony's emotions made his grip tighten until the hold turned painful but Yasha didn't flinch or try to get away from it, instead he just placed his metal hand over Tony's hand and brushed his thumb over the tense muscle to soothe him.  
It only took a few moments before the grip relaxed slightly, just enough for the edge of pain to fade, and moments later a mumbled apology was offered as Tony moved his hand closer to Yasha's neck so he could rub his thumb along the pale skin of his throat.  
  


“He seemed like he might be interested in you too...”  
  


Tony had noticed the way Loki's gaze would shift between them when they teased each other, and he might not be the best with the whole emotional, romantic, side of things, but he was intimately familiar with the edge of desire in those eyes.  
It was fairly well hidden, something he had seen more than once when he was younger, seen in the eyes of other men, men who were unsure about how their advances would be met, something that became a rare sight after the gossip rags outed him as bisexual.  
It had only taken a moment for Tony to decide he definitely didn't like seeing that particular mask on Loki, a mask crafted from fear and self loathing, fear of rejection, fear of being found unworthy, and a self loathing born of a lifetime of those fears being confirmed by others.  
  


“ _Yeah, I've noticed. He seems to be conflicted about it though.”_  
“Yeah, that look of his was pretty familiar though.”  
  


Yasha tilted his head slightly and offered up a questioning hum.  
  


“I saw that look a lot on guys approaching me before the tabloids outed me as Bi.”  
 _“Why though? We obviously don't mind males being with males..”_  
  


There was a hint of amusement in the question, but confusion, and concern, dominated it.  
  


“In his case I think it's a fear of rejection in itself, not specific to sexual preferences.”  
 _“He's faced it so many times he's come to expect it, from everyone...”_  
“Yeah...”  
  


The silence that fell held a somewhat heavy edge, both of them considering the vulnerability that Loki had exposed to them, mostly likely without intending to which meant they needed to be careful with how they handled it.  
  


“Yasha, if you don't mind me asking, would you reject an advance from Loki?”  
  


Friday's question caught them a bit off guard, she would usually just observe rather than outright ask about such personal details.  
  


“ _Not outright reject, no. But right now, I wouldn't accept it either.”_  
“I don't understand.”  
 _“My relationship with your father is more important, and right now it's growing into something more, I need to focus on that before I consider letting anyone else in that close.”_  
“I still don't understand.”  
  


Yasha once again found himself amazed at how human Friday was, how well she was able to emote despite having nothing but a digital voice at her disposal, he could clearly pick up on a mix of frustration, sadness, and a hint of concern.  
  


“Don't worry сестричка.”  
  


Friday's huff at being called little sister earned her a pair of teasing smiles before both of them reassured her that there was no need for her to try to rush her understanding of the deeper emotional aspects of interpersonal relationships.  
They carefully explained that most people never fully grasped those aspects of the relationships of those around them, even if they were close friends or family, many never fully grasped them even in their own relationships.  
  


“There's no point in overanalyzing it, that'll just get you all turned around and make things even more confusing.”  
 _“You're a brilliant girl, you'll figure it out, just give yourself time.”_  
“I'll try to keep that in mind...”  
“If it comes to that we'll have to be really careful about explaining all of it properly to Loki though...”  
 _“I know. He'd twist it to cut himself if we leave him the slightest room to do so.”_  
  


Friday carefully considered the comment about Loki, comparing the implications of it with her knowledge about her family, deciding that they were all idiots who needed to learn not to blame themselves for everything.  
She watched them settle down in the movie corner to get some more rest before it was time to face a new day, and she joined their hushed conversation with the occasional question, but most of her computing power was still used to monitor the whole bounty situation.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·The Power of a Name·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Fri baby, what's on the schedule for today?”  
  


Tony reached out toward Yasha and made grabby hands at the huge mug that was currently being filled up with the elixir of life, aka steaming hot, pitch black, coffee.  
  


“You have a teleconference with the LA office at 13:00 to 14:00, other than that it's all workshop time.”  
“Plenty of time to have a look at what Rogers and his lackeys have been up to since the last video went online then.”  
“May I suggest we do it in the drawing room?”  
“Of course Fri, care to share your motivation?”  
“This is your safe place, I don't want you to associate Rogers' bullshit with it...”  
 _“That does make sense.”_  
“Aw, Fri baby, you're such a sweetheart.”  
  


The soft cooing quickly turned into light teasing that continued while Yasha made breakfast and Tony sorted through his messages and e-mails, making sure there wouldn't be any interruptions before lunch.  
Once breakfast was gone, and one of the robotic utility carts was filled with snacks, they headed to the elevator and the drawing room to have a look at the report Friday had put together on the reactions of Rogers and the Rogues.  
  


“Let's see what the jackass squad has to say about current events.”  
“Alright.”  
  


Friday hesitates for a moment as she's about to start the briefing, running through the probable reactions of her family to seeing the recordings and she decides to warn Yasha about the high probability of him being triggered by Rogers' behaviour.  
  


“Yasha, I'm concerned that several of Rogers' reactions will be triggering for you...” _  
“Yeah, I figured that would be the case.”  
_ “Please don't overdo it...”  
 _“Don't worry sweetie, I'll be careful.”  
_ “We both will.”  
  


Satisfied by their reassurances she starts the briefing by bringing up the recordings, combining the camera angles into a scaled down 3D projection, adjusting her own algorithms to fill out the blanks.  
  


“Full 3D, going fancy on us baby?”  
“I've been doing a lot of research on human interactions lately and from the data revived I've concluded that a 3D display might be beneficial.”  
“Beneficial how?”  
“Things like posture, and exact distance and angle of position relative to others, appears to be a more vital indicator when assessing interpersonal relationships than most believe. Based on this a 3D display should make it easier to make an accurate assessment of their interactions.”  
“Ah, testing your theory on us are you?”  
“Yes Boss.”  
 _“The base conclusion is spot on.”_  
  


Yasha instantly grasped what Friday was talking about and he knew she was right about those details being very important, and she was right about them being easier to spot in a 3D environment than on a simple video, even with multiple angles.  
  


“Thank you Yasha.”  
 _“The real question is if the miniature projection is enough for us to pick up on those fine cues.”  
_ “We could always try to interface it into the BARF projectors for a full size experience.”  
“I don't think that's a good idea, at least not for the initial review of the footage.”  
  


Yasha nodded in agreement to Tony's suggestion, but Friday was quick to object to it, warning them of the greatly increased risk of being triggered if they reviewed it at such a high level of immersion.  
  


“I guess you have a pretty good point there sweetie.”  
 _“We start like this, and try with BARF later if this isn't enough.”_  
“Sounds like a good compromise. Fri?”  
“Agreed. Watching it a few times like this should desensitise you enough to avoid a severe reaction to a more immersive experience.”  
 _“A practical application of exposure therapy.”_  
“Which is why I suggest we do a full viewing before we start looking at any of the details.”  
“That's probably a good idea.”  
  


If Friday was to put a word to what she was feeling she would probably have to say pride, Yasha had confirmed her theories about assessing human interactions, and her father agreed with her suggestion about how to work through the briefing.  
  


As they watched the projection Friday once again found herself wishing she had a body, she wanted to be able to hold and soothe her father and Yasha as the behaviour of the Rogues once again triggered lingering traumas, leaving both of them raw, teetering on the edge of breaking down.  
There were several points where she asked them if they needed a break, but both refused, telling her to keep going while they clung to each other as if they were drowning, which was a pretty accurate analogy as in a sense they were drowning in their own emotions.  
When the file ended with the Rogues leaving the small conference room to find food, Friday quickly replaced the projection of an empty room with one of the animations she had been working on to test as a relaxation method.  
  


The selected projection was a nebula design based on a mix of the Crab and Veil nebulae sporting mainly cool hues with calming blues as the primary colour, blues that bled toward other hues by adding hidden layers of other colours.  
She had used mostly greens, giving life to a wide range of teal and aqua, but a hidden layer with a few spots of red that was allowed to interact with the blues, but not the greens, added touches of violet and purple.  
Hopefully the calming colours combined with a soothing mix from the meditation sound files would help the pair calm down faster.  
  


The feeling as her sensors showed pulse and respiratory rates dropping and becoming calmer was easily named as relief and once it pushed concern aside another feeling began to rise, anger at the Rogues for their effect on her family.  
  


“Are you okay to continue?”  
 _“I'm okay...”  
_ “Yeah, thanks for the assist Fri.”  
“Any specific part you would like to start with?”  
  


Yasha just shook his head, leaving it up to Tony to decide how to proceed and he took a few minutes to consider it, humming softly and drawing a lazy pattern along Yasha's spine to keep them both calm.  
  


“Feel free to correct me if you think I'm going off base here, but doesn't it look like Bug-boy's anger is antagonistic rather than sympathetic toward Rogers?”  
  


Yasha ran through his impressions of the footage and he quickly nodded in agreement while Friday chose to share her observations.  
  


“It is. I have been going over archive footage and found that Lang has been showing increasing signs of discontent for a while now, questioning his decision to follow Rogers in the privacy of his room.”  
  


She switched the display to show some of the recent recordings of Lang in his room, writing down his thoughts about the Rogues and the current events.  
  


“These past few weeks though he's started to really look at the Rogues, and he clearly doesn't like what he's seeing. He has been writing down his observations, notes that he burns before leaving his room.”  
 _“He doesn't trust that he will be safe if they find out he has doubts about them.”_  
“Would you feel safe if you were in his shoes?”  
  


Friday's question held a slight edge of dubious humour and was most likely intended to be rhetorical, but Yasha answered it anyway, partially to get his own thoughts out there, and partially to confirm Friday's interpretation of Lang's behaviour.  
  


“ _Considering Rogers' volatile reactions to people not agreeing with him, and the way the others follow his lead I wouldn't feel safe around any of them. The Ant may have some decent fighting skills, but without the suit he wouldn't be much of a match for Rogers or Natalia, but he could probably stand his ground against Barton or Wilson, assuming they're unarmed.”_  
“I don't think it matters if he has the suit or not, he'd still be at a disadvantage.”  
 _“Hmm?”_  
“I don't think he has the killer instinct to take any of 'em down, at least not without some serious motivation, like that girl of his being in danger.”  
 _“Good point. Wilson and Barton's backgrounds have left them with the hesitation to harm or kill conditioned out of them. As far as I can tell Lang has superior skills in martial arts, but he lacks their background, hasn't been conditioned to kill, making him significantly more likely to hold back.”  
_

While Yasha spoke Tony's mind started spinning down some rather disturbing paths, he may have a lot more darkness within than most could even dream about, but he had a soft spot for kids.  
  


“Fri, we have eyes on Lang's family, right?”  
“Of course Boss.”  
“Do an extra check on the historical data, and do a full security analysis for Cassandra Lang.”  
“Am I looking for something in particular?”  
“Anything indicating that someone else is watching and mark any potential issues.”  
“Alright Boss.”  
 _“You're worried they'll go after the girl to control him?”_  
  


Yasha sounded so worried it made Tony tighten his arm slightly, pulling him closer.  
  


“They're major league assholes, but I don't think that even they'd stoop as low as to hurt or threaten kids, at least not intentionally.”  
 _“The Natalia I trained wouldn't hesitate to.”_  
“You think the person she is now would, could?”  
 _“I don't know. She has changed a lot since the Red Room, not all for the better. She has lost a lot of her ability to remain emotionally detached and I don't know if that makes her less likely to use a tactic like that, or more likely...”  
_

The part of him that had trained the girls at the Red Room, that considered the Widow something akin to a daughter, was torn about what she had become, it was happy that she had learned to care for others, pleased that she allowed herself to be cared for.  
At the same time there were a lot of darker feelings, in the eyes of the Winter Soldier she was putting herself above her mission, a Widow's loyalty was supposed to be to the mission above all else, and the mission of an Avenger was the protection of the world.  
  


He knew that she understood the need for the Accords, that she understood what Tony was trying to do, the need for them to be part of the process to ensure the Accords would become a framework that the people would trust, without it being too limiting.  
Her choice to betray Tony and side with Rogers at the conclusion of the battle at the Airport had put all of that at risk, had made everything so much harder than it had to be.  
  


Though, there was a part of Yasha that was very happy about it as well, her actions had helped the events that ultimately led to the reveal of Rogers' duplicity, and that had given the Asset his final handler, his freedom, his path to revenge and absolution.  
Her betrayal had turned the Asset into Yasha, and given him his lover...  
  


“So extra precautions to keep Lang's family safe is probably a good idea.”  
 _“Considering the current developments, definitely.”  
_ “I'll make sure she's safe. Permission to deploy one of the suits if needed?” _  
_“Of course Fri.”  
“Thanks Boss.”  
  


Friday quickly added a few new protocols to her coding, subroutines that would let her deploy one, or more, of the unused suits to protect Lang's daughter if anything happened.  
  


“Honestly, Romanoff didn't seem too happy about the way Rogers and Barton behaved either...”  
 _“Rogers' increasingly erratic, and violent, outbursts are putting her in a precarious position. Right now not many know of it, but if it becomes common knowledge the Accords will take him off the rooster.”_  
“If he goes they all go, and without the backing and goodwill of the Accords to keep her safe she'd be in a lot of trouble...”  
 _“Exactly. She's already miscalculated and lost a lot of ground when the Accords weren't tossed like Rogers was gunning for.”_  
“And most of her contacts cut her loose after Insight.”  
 _“Understandable, they burned a_ _ **lot**_ _of friendly agents with that stunt.”  
_ “No shitting, I worked my ass off for weeks trying to get burned agents and their families to safety.” _  
_

There was a burning rage in Tony's voice, but in the few moments it took him to speak it shifted into a choking despair.  
  


“I failed so many of them...”  
 _“No, that's not on you. What's on you is the ones you saved, the information you managed to take down. The rest is on Rogers and Natalia for dumping the data, on Fury and perhaps Hill as well for not calling you in to take the Insight Helicarriers down.”  
_

Seeing her creator on the edge of a breakdown Friday decided to interrupt, hoping to shift the topic. _  
_

“I have been studying records of the HYDRA uprising, and I don't understand how no one seems to fault Rogers for the fallout of the data dump...”  
  


The whole thing had Friday very confused, and the fact that she hadn't been active at the time didn't exactly help as it limited her to second hand data and historical records.  
  


“ _I think a lot of people are willing to dismiss Rogers part in since he's from the 40's and had only been awake for two years at the time. Excusing it with him simply not knowing enough to understand the consequences of putting it on the internet. Something they all expect Natalia to know.”_  
“I guess that makes a bit of sense. Seems SHIELD failed pretty bad at getting Rogers ready for the 21st century...”  
 _“Some of it was probably HYDRA trying to make use of him and keep him from figuring things out.”_  
  


Yasha's explanation made Tony huff out a bitter laugh, he had tried...  
  


“I gave him a tablet with a bunch of topics he should study, and a briefing with information I figured he would need. Most of it was on things I figured SHIELD might skimp out on like culture, or aspects of politics and laws that they might not consider important like the Civil rights movement, women's rights and LGBT. But I added things I figured SHIELD would brief him on as well, like technology, just in case.”  
  


He had tried after the Battle of New York when he noticed that Rogers was woefully outdated on a lot of topics, he had no idea if Rogers had actually studied the provided material though, which he mentioned after pausing for a moment to catch his breath.  
  


“You can lead a horse to water...”  
 _“_ Stevie _always did dislike being reminded of what he didn't know almost as much as he hated needing, or asking for, help.”_  
  


Yasha's lip curls in distaste as he spoke the old nickname that signified that he was tapping into the memories of Bucky, and speaking of the Rogers from before crashing the Valkyrie.  
  


“So he probably never bothered to read what I gave him...”  
 _“That would be a safe assumption.”_  
“Typical.”  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·The Power of a Name·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


When Friday announced it was time for lunch they were still picking apart the reactions of Lang, Wilson and Romanoff, steering clear of the more triggering aspects of the briefing, they would return to those after the teleconference.  
  


“The car is ready and waiting and your food will be ready when you arrive.”  
“Thanks Fri.”  
  


The tower had perfectly good facilities for the conference, the drawing room being one of those, but Pepper had insisted that it should be held at one of the production facilities at the edge of the city as the purpose of the conference was to discuss the repurposing of the facility.  
  


Tony couldn't help huffing as the elevator door opened and revealed the heavy, reinforced and armoured pickup truck waiting for them, ever since the crash Yasha had quite forcefully taken over the job of picking what car to use.  
The man liked his cars mean and heavy, the kind of cars you could ram through a roadblock and just smile and keep driving, and of course Tony had indulged him and ordered a few cars to his taste, mainly full size SUVs and pickup trucks.  
The current one was Yasha's baby though, and since the crash it was the only car he'd drive unless there was no other choice than to pick something else, like in case of a fancy limousine event.  
The triple axle VelociRaptor was based on a Ford Raptor, and it had been further modified and reinforced to increase power, add armour and a significantly stronger roll cage structure that could handle a lot of force without crumbling.  
The rear doors and back seat had been converted to house Yasha's gear and a not so small arsenal of his favourite weapons, and the bed of the truck had a pair of suits hidden within.  
  


“Are you ever going to let me use a normal car again?”  
 _“This one is safer.”_  
  


The words were spoken with the rigid chill of the Asset but Tony recognised it for the concern it was and it made him sigh and submit.  
  


“Alright _Soldier_ , we'll do it your way, as usual...”  
 _“As it should be.”_  
  


The reply sounded almost clipped and it was accompanied by a short, sharp, nod as Yasha stepped up and opened the passenger door but Tony could feel the undercurrent of amusement as he brushed past to take his seat.  
  


“Thanks Snowflake.”  
  


Yasha just gave him a slightly flat look, reminding him to at least try to keep things professional while in public, though, they both knew Friday would have alerted them if the garage wasn't secure.  
Tony just flashed a teasing smile in return and settled into the admittedly very comfortable seat, the size of the car allowed for some seriously comfortable seats and the height gave an excellent view, sure, it wasn't as fast or flashy as Tony's usual cars, but it was growing on him.  
If he was honest with himself, which he was trying his best to be, the main reason was the fact that it helped Yasha relax and feel safer.  
Tony was far too deep in thought to notice as Yasha started the engine and took them out of the tower, he didn't really notice anything until Yasha opened his door again and he looked out to see the small parking structure of the manufacturing plant.  
  


“Fri, is the room secure?”  
“Yes Boss.”  
  


The moment Friday gave the all clear, Yasha removed his mask and descended on his share of the food and made short work of it, something that Tony had learned was a sure sign of stress.  
  


“Damn, we really need to work on that habit of inhaling your food when stressed. Even with the serum that's gotta mess with your stomach.”  
 _“I can handle it.”_  
“Bet you can, but that doesn't mean you should.”  
“...”  
“I just don't want to see you suffering, even if it's something harmless.”  
 _“Sorry...”_  
  


The apology and emotional turn of topic left Tony feeling somewhat uncomfortable so he quickly deflected with a mention of wanting to check a few things before the meeting then focused on trying to finish his own food.  
Tony always had a bit of a hard time eating anything solid while stressed, it had started with a drinking problem, then it got cranked up to 11 after Afghanistan with the constant stress of the Palladium poisoning paired with the chlorophyll drinks.  
Fortunately Yasha was more than happy to polish off whatever Tony didn't eat so by the time lunch was over and they headed toward the meeting room all the food was gone.  
  


“Mr Stark, Blade.”  
  


Pepper greeted them with a somewhat tense nod as they entered the small conference room and Tony instantly launched into one of his usual over the top greetings, making her huff and offer up an exasperated smile.  
He would have to talk to her later to see what she was so tense about, but right now they had a meeting to get through, his least favourite part of being the owner of Stark Industries, he would much rather just have focused entirely on R&D.  
Even the work in R&D had him feeling trapped at times, as much as he loved tinkering and inventing, solving problems and fixing technology, he hated all the demands, all the musts and needs, he would much rather just follow where his mind wandered.  
  


Tony's temper quickly takes a turn for the worse when several of the participants of the conference start asking questions about the video, and the request that Tony be one of the people receiving the information about HYDRA.  
Pepper tries to help him get things back on track, but one of the potential subcontractors can't seem to drop the topic and Tony can feel Yasha growing increasingly tense behind him, clearly suspicious of the woman's motives.  
It only took a few moments for Tony to reach out for Friday and ask her to dig deep into the woman's background, to look for any hint of a HYDRA connection and he could feel her echo a sense of vicious delight at the task.  
In return he focused on trying to relay a sense of pride and a bit of concern, he still wasn't all that good on using the connection to transmit feelings rather than code though, but for once it seemed like the message got through as intended.  
  


Pepper's voice pulled Tony's attention back to the meeting, the saccharine tone revealing her fury as she cut off the subcontractor's next question and informed her that Stark Industries would not be working with her company, then had Friday disconnect her.  
He couldn't help smiling when he felt Yasha's energy shift from a suspicious tension, to impressed amusement with a hint of respect, the ease with which he was picking up on Yasha's emotions made him pause though.  
  


It had taken a few weeks after Siberia, but Tony had grown keenly attuned to Yasha's presence, mostly out of self preservation as the assassin had a knack for living up to his ghost reputation, causing quite a few scares during the first few days.  
Thinking back on the first time Yasha slept in the workshop brought about an almost nostalgic twist to Tony's smile, he remembered the worry, and the promise to be mindful, after Yasha had startled him so badly he fell off his stool.  
Yasha had kept to his promise to make some noise as he approached, but Tony was frequently too far into his own mind to notice, leading to a few more scares, and a very contrite assassin, which back in those days meant kneeling, expecting punishment.  
  


It was Yasha's reaction more than anything that had pushed Tony to being more mindful of his presence, it was tough at first though as Yasha had an uncanny ability to hide his presence when he wanted to, which was more or less constantly at first.  
Tony didn't blame him for wanting to hide though, the entire experience had been overwhelming for both of them, but as they grew more comfortable with each other and Yasha started to actually feel safe his presence changed.  
  


As Yasha started to feel comfortable enough to let up on hiding his presence became impossible for Tony to ignore, the nearly imperceptible wisp of a feeling, like mist in the morning, had turned into the powerful presence of a predator.  
The sense of raw power came with an undercurrent of danger even when Yasha was calm, like a deadly beast whose hunger was momentarily sated, and his confidence in his skills turned that flicker of danger into a well honed edge.  
It was a feeling that Tony had quickly grown to enjoy, and even love, feeling all that power and skill condensed into the shape of a man, coiled up and ready to strike, at his back had Tony feeling safer than he had since Afghanistan, since his first kidnapping as a child.  
  


This however was something different, picking up on things like tension or anger, even amusement, had been fairly easy, but it had never been this easy, or detailed, perhaps he should ask Loki about it, see if it might be a side-effect of the shared dream.  
  


“That will be all, thank you for attending.”  
  


Pepper's voice once again brought Tony from his own mind, but this time it was the words rather than the tone and for what must have been the millionth time of his life Tony thanked whatever powers may be for his ability to get through a meeting without paying attention to it.  
  


It was a skill he had begun developing as a child with Howard's long winded lectures and drunken eulogies to Captain America, refined through his teens as both grew increasingly rebuking, then after his parents' passing, perfected at Stane's manipulative hands.  
He had quickly mastered the art of making it through all the necessary meetings drunk off his ass, high as a kite, and on more than one occasion, both, not that Stane had ever tried to curb that, quite the contrary, he had fed into Tony's addictions.  
It wasn't until Stane realised that feeding the addictions didn't work to get power over Stark Industries away from Tony that he had hired the Ten Rings to kill him.  
  


The moment the handful of people that had been on location for the meeting had left the room and Friday had given the all clear Yasha dropped out of his Blade role and crouched down next to Tony, carefully checking for any signs of a panic attack.  
Finding no signs of any immediate issues he carefully put his hands on Tony's knees, paying close attention to his reactions.  
  


“ _What's wrong?”_  
“Took a wrong turn down memory lane...”  
 _“The Rogues?”_  
“Not this time.”  
  


Yasha didn't say anything, but the way he tilted his head was an obvious request for more information.  
  


“Howard, Stane and all the times I've been kidnapped.”  
  


When he didn't say anything else Yasha just offered a nod and shifted his position slightly so he could face Pepper without letting go of Tony's knees, and the hands that had come down to entwine with his own.  
  


“ _Have you had time to review Friday's report on the reactions to the second video?”_  
  


There was a flicker of annoyance on Pepper's face, probably due to the Russian as it faded when Friday brought up a screen with a translation.  
  


“I have and it's looking good so far. You're a pretty good actor.”  
 _“Tricks of the trade, or perhaps an occupational hazard.”_  
  


The somewhat wry tone, especially in the second part of the answer, had Pepper offering a slight smile that carried a hint of approval and understanding that left Yasha somewhat surprised, but after considering it for a few moments he realized that maybe he shouldn't be.  
After all, her work with Tony and SI required a lot of the same skills as his work as a spy and assassin did, the main difference was that her assassinations were of a far more figurative nature whereas his own were very literal.  
  


“You will send over a summary when you are done reviewing the reactions of Rogers and the Rogues?”  
 _“We will.”_  
  


Yasha knew it wasn't really a question, but he answered just the same before turning his attention back to Tony who was fortunately back in a more stable state.  
  


“ _Time to head back, we have work to do.”_  
“I thought I was supposed to be the boss...”  
  


Yasha and Pepper both voiced something between a huff and a snort, the underlying _Dream on!_ came through loud and clear which only served to bring Tony's mock complaints to the next level.  
Unfortunately Yasha does have a point so after a few minutes of trading quips and companionable snark they collect their things and head back toward the garage.  
  


“I hate to have to bring this up, but we need to have a meeting to discuss the details of the Independence Day charity event...”  
  


Tony's steps faltered for a moment before he caught himself and squared his shoulders, it was one of the events where the deal with the Accords demanded that he show up and play nice with Rogers and his flunkies.  
Pepper's apologetic tone meant that she wasn't talking about just the two of them meeting up to finalize their plans, this would be a full size meeting with most, if not all, involved parties.  
This meant that it would, at a minimum, have to include Pepper, Tony, Yasha, the Rogues, their respective Accords representatives, the Rogues' task force coordinator as well as separate representatives for the international Accords Council and the US Council.  
On top of that there would be PR representatives for the various parties, the Accords, the Rogues, Stark Industries, the Maria Stark Foundation and Tony's own PR team, and probably someone from the State Department as well.  
  


“...”  
“We need to work out the schedule and make sure everyone is properly chaperoned.”  
“And sell it to everyone...”  
“With how they have been acting it should be an easy sell.”  
“Except to _them_...”  
  


Tony's sigh carried a weight that makes Yasha's protectiveness churn with something dark and possessive, makes him almost twitchy with the urge to change his gear, grab his rifle and the special ammunition designed to take down someone like Rogers.  
He quickly pushes the feelings down, he can't afford to be distracted outside of the safety of the tower.  
  


“Hap! How's life treating you?”  
  


He watches as Tony greets the somewhat burly man with an eager energy, and is rewarded with fond exasperation for his antics.  
Yasha's mind quickly sorts through the information he has on Harold Joseph _Happy_ Hogan, the former boxer who had become Tony's personal chauffeur and bodyguard, then was reassigned to Pepper when she became CEO.  
Later he was promoted to head of security for SI but after the so called Civil War he requested to be reassigned and was now dividing his time between being Pepper's chauffeur and bodyguard, and trying to mentor Spider-Man.  
He watches as the three talk for a bit before Pepper and Hogan leaves and Tony turns to him.  
  


“Guess that's our cue to hit the road.”  
“...”  
  


Yasha just nods silently and walks over to their car, opening the passenger door to keep up appearances.  
  


“Hey, how do you feel about dropping by Brooklyn to buy some treats?”  
  


Tony's question as they pulled out from the facility made Yasha pause for a moment, they had visited Brooklyn a few times to see if they could trigger memories, and it usually did, something he wasn't so sure he was feeling up to at the moment.  
  


“ _What kind of treats?”_  
“I was thinking we could drop by that fruit store we found last time and pick out a nice selection.”  
  


Yasha quietly considered the suggestion, the fact that it was a place he had already visited reduced the chance for triggering a memory, and he **did** like their selection of quality fruit...  
With his mind made up he answers by taking a right at the exit rather than the left that would have brought them back to the tower.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·The Power of a Name·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Alright, let's have a look at the rest of this clusterfuck.”  
  


Tony really really did not want to go through the rest of the recordings, the parts they had purposefully avoided earlier to make sure they wouldn't be in too rough of a shape to attend the meeting.  
  


“ _Easy, remember to breathe.”_  
“...”  
 _“We'll be okay.”  
_

Yasha's voice and the metal of his hand against Tony's neck was soothing and grounding, but it really didn't make Tony any less reluctant, that first viewing had hurt bad enough as it was.  
  


Out of all the toxic and hurtful things Barton had thrown his way, that simple quip suggesting he was HYDRA had by far been the most painful, and the fact that Rogers hadn't shown any signs of rejecting the idea, quite the contrary, burned.  
Tony could live with being called selfish, vindictive, dangerous, uncaring and all the other things Rogers and the others had called him, but being accused of being HYDRA, even in such an offhanded way, that was more than he could stomach.  
With all the things he had learned about HYDRA, about the atrocities they had committed, it was just too much to hear someone even hint at him being one of those monsters.  
  


“I know. Still gonna suck...”  
  


Yasha couldn't argue against that, he was definitely not looking forward to listening to Rogers spewing **that** name on every breath, ranting about bringing **him** back, about making **him** remember, making **him** forget.  
The sudden stirring of a few fragments that had yet to be integrated hit him like a sledgehammer and he found himself fighting to suppress the voices screeching in his mind.  
  


“Come on Winter Wonderland, talk to me.”  
  


The hovering hands, hesitant to touch, and the concerned tone told Yasha that he must have been unresponsive for a while, at the same time the vile taste in his mouth made it quite obvious that he had thrown up at some point.  
  


“ _I...”_  
“Oh shit, please don't scare me like that sweetheart...”  
 _“...”_  
“You okay to be touched?”  
  


Tony's voice was unsteady, little more than a whisper, and he kept shifting his weight slightly as he waited for Yasha to respond.  
  


“Just nod or shake your head if you don't feel up to talking.”  
  


Yasha struggled with the question, the instructions, for a moment before managing to give a weak nod which was rewarded with the gentle touch of calloused hands, pushing a few loose strands of hair from his face and fingers carefully brushing over his closed eyes.  
  


“Let's rinse that bad taste away, okay?”  
  


Another weak nod and he could feel the rim of a glass against his lips and he took a sip of the lukewarm liquid and rinsed his mouth with it before spitting it out into the offered bucket and repeating the process, this time picking up on the taste of the sodium bicarbonate mixed in the water.  
The addition of the alkaline salt helped neutralize the acidity of the gastric acid and get rid of the taste of bile.  
After a few more rinses Yasha could feel Tony move away followed by the sound of the glass being set aside and something else being picked up and moments later Tony was next to him again.

“You need to drink something.”  
 _“Please...”_  
“This should help settle your stomach a bit.”

He latched on to the silicone-tipped straw the moment he felt it touch his lips and drank greedily, quickly draining the contents of the small bottle, barely registering the taste of apple and celery under the bite of fresh ginger.  
Again he could hear Tony set the bottle aside before reaching out and running his hand along the plates of the arm, carefully urging Yasha to allow him to move it.  
Moments later the sensors in the hand came to life and sent information to his brain through the neural clamp, scarred skin, soft and warm, smooth metal, slightly cooler from contact with the air, then came the steady rise and fall of Tony's breathing.  
Focusing on the sensations he could feel the beating heart, strong and healthy now, but slightly faster than usual, and hidden beneath it, the soft hum of the arc reactor drawing him in.

“Feeling better?”  
 _“A bit...”_  
“There's more juice in the table cooler so how about we relocate there?”

It wasn't until Tony mentioned relocating that Yasha realized he was on the floor, curled tightly into what had to be the small space underneath one of the worktables along the wall, clutching his favourite gun tightly.  
Forcing himself to open his eyes he was met by the soft light of Tony's reactor, illuminating the familiar face that was currently stuck somewhere between concern and relief.

“ _Damn, that was a bad one...”_  
“Yeah, it's been a while since you had one that bad..”  
 _“I didn't hurt you, did?”_  
“Nah, not really. You gave me a good push, knocking me on my ass, which might have bruised a bit. But you were mostly just going all defensive, waving that gun of yours in my face if I got too close.”  
 _“Sorry.”_

He carefully offers his flesh hand, and the gun it held, forcing his grip to relax, allowing Tony to take it before slowly moving out of the tight space he had managed to tuck himself into and shuffling over to the couch in the corner.

“ _How long was I out of it?”_  
“About an hour.”

Yasha nodded slowly, that was a pretty long episode, but there had been a few worse ones.

“Was it the fragments again?”  
 _“Yeah...”_  
“Feel like talking about it?”  
 _“Not now... Maybe later tonight.”_  
“Alright.”

As always Tony didn't push, instead he started moving most of the snacks to the small table next to him, then moved on to pillows and blankets before patting his lap in invitation.

“You need to rest.”

Yasha didn't hesitate to move over and put his head in the offered lap, moments later clever fingers made quick work of the braids that kept his hair contained while working before slowly carding through the strands.

“Fri, could you put something nice and relaxing on please?”  
“Of course Boss.”

The soothing sounds, mixed to his preference, helped Yasha relax further and he allowed his mind to drift, the fingers carding through his hair anchoring him as Tony fed him pieces of fruit, cheese, and various charcuteries.  
The way Tony spoke while feeding him told Yasha that he had a pretty good idea about what had triggered the episode as he focused on the names that had the closest associations with who he had become after the fall.  
A mix of English and Russian, Winter, _Zimniy_ , Soldier, _Soldat_ , even Asset, names that had once been a prison, a leash, meant to dehumanize him but now helped him ground himself and reaffirm who he had become, who he was, names that made him Yasha.

Names that had become a testament to his will, and ability, to survive and prevail against all odds.


	23. A Life Stolen But Not Ended

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another chapter that did **not** want to come together the way I wanted it to.

.·:*¨¨*:·A Life Stolen But Not Ended·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Are you sure Yasha?”  
  


Friday's obvious concern made both Tony and Yasha smile.  
  


“ _I'm sure.”_  
“You had such a strong reaction earlier...”  
“Don't worry львица.”  
  


Friday's very obvious huff when Yasha called her lioness had the smiles shifting into amused snickers and a few teasing quips before the matter at hand brought them all back to a somewhat sombre tension.  
  


“Okay, but I still think we should wait until tomorrow.”  
 _“You know as well as we do that we won't have time to do this until Sunday if we don't do it now.”_  
  


Yasha scolded her lightly for the no doubt intentional attempt to further delay things.  
  


“But...”  
“We know you're worried sweetie, but we need to do this now.”  
“Why?”  
 _“We need to take their reactions into account when we record the answers to the rest of the questions.”_  
“I don't like it...”  
 _“None of us do, but we still have to do it.”_  
“...”  
  


Without a body to emote her intentional silence Friday opted to play a static electric hum instead.  
  


“Friday...”  
  


The choice of address and the slight edge to Tony's voice was enough to tell her that he was not pleased with her current behaviour, something she found that she didn't like at all, he didn't use any of his override codes though.  
She realized that other than when unlocking Phoenix and Pepper's attempt to get the medical data, none of those codes had been used in a long time now, instead Tony and Yasha talked to her and argued their case with her.  
  


“Sorry...”  
  


She still didn't like it, but she did bring the projection online, and if she focused her sensors and paid extra attention to Yasha's vitals, well, they didn't really need to know that.  
  


Watching the projection Yasha quickly found that anger was an excellent tool for silencing the aberrant fragments, and anger was something he had plenty of at the moment.  
  


“Easy there Winter Wolf, maybe try to relax a bit, you're getting awfully growly.”  
  


Tony tried to keep his tone light in an attempt to offset the heavy waves of anger he could feel rolling off Yasha as he paced the length of the large table in the middle of the room.  
  


“ _Don't want to, anger keeps the voices back.”_  
  


Yasha's anger had his voice dropping even lower than usual, and there was a distinct gravelly note to it that sent a shiver down Tony's spine, something that would have had him hard and wanting more in seconds if it wasn't for the shitty mood induced by Rogers and his minions.  
  


“In that case, feel free to growl and howl all you want.”  
  


The quip had Yasha stopping, then turning on his heel, the motion unfairly smooth as always, and Tony found himself locked down by icy blue eyes glowing with rage and hunger, fight or flight starting to stir in the back of his mind.  
He didn't act on the stirring instinct though, instead he found himself rooted to the spot like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, and for a moment there was a flicker of fear cursing through him as instincts recognized the dangerous predator focused on him.  
That flicker of fear was quickly replaced by a surge of desire though as Yasha's stance shifted and he started moving closer, each step slow and measured while still showing off the familiar sway that Tony had dubbed the _Murder Strut._  
  


Eyes still trapped by the hunger in Yasha's gaze Tony took a small step back, then another, trying to maintain the distance, prolong the chase, but he quickly found his slow escape cut short as the edge of one of the worktables in the room cut into his back.  
The moment he stopped he could see a dark smile appear on Yasha's face and the raw hunger of it sent another shiver down his spine as his mind struggled to regain some semblance of balance, counting the steps remaining before he would be caught.  
  


3...  
2...  
1...  
 _Shit_...  
  


Tony swallowed heavily as Yasha stopped a hair's breadth from actually touching him and looked down at him for a moment, then strong arms moved forward, planting flesh and metal hands on the desk, cutting off any hope for escape.  
His breath caught at the storm of emotions showing in Yasha's eyes, then shuddered in unexpected relief as the solid heat of the enhanced assassin pressed against him, pinning him against the desk in a move that was just the right mix of rough and gentle, of power and restraint.  
  


“ _This works too...”_  
  


The kiss that followed left Tony's mind blank save for the near overwhelming presence that was Yasha, it didn't last nearly long enough though and he whined at the loss when Yasha broke the kiss and took a step back.  
After struggling to catch his breath and force his body back into some semblance of control for a few moments Tony opens his eyes and spots a downright wicked smile on Yasha's face as he takes another step back before turning back to the projection.  
  


“You are one cruel bastard Frosty.”  
  


The only answer he gets is a soft huff, but Yasha does shift his stance and metal fingers tap against the surface of the table, a familiar invitation that Tony is not about to reject.  
He pushes away from the smaller worktable with a groan and takes a somewhat unsteady step toward the central table before finding his feet, he can still feel Yasha's anger simmering, but he didn't feel as if about to murder someone anymore.  
At least no more than he always did...  
  


“Whatever did I do to deserve such a cruel tease for a lover?”  
  


Tony didn't stop his mock complaints as he stepped into the spot at Yasha's left and pressed against his solid heat.  
  


“ _Must have been something really good.”_  
  


The metal hand settling on his hip sent another spark of need down his spine but the way Yasha tugged him closer made it settle into a calming warmth.  
  


“Meanie...”  
  


Yasha just huffed at him while rubbing a lazy pattern across his hip, grounding him and allowing him to pull his mind back into the present.  
  


“ _Fri, resume the playback please.”_  
“I still think you should wait...”  
  


Despite grumbling she did as asked, helping them pick apart the next set of Rogers' reactions, still concerned but taking some solace in the fact that her companions were a bit calmer now.  
  


“ _So willing to consider the possibility of you being HYDRA...”_  
  


Yasha shook his head at Rogers' reaction when Barton suggested that his choice to protect Tony in the bunker had been some sort of programming to protect valuable HYDRA operatives.  
  


“He's always been more than willing to believe anything negative about me, anything from media gossip to Romanoff's bullshit evaluation.”  
 _“He's seen the Insight target list, you were right up there on the priority list for the first strike...”_  
“He's never been interested in learning about anything that contradicts whatever opinion he's made for himself. ”  
 _“I can remember him being stubborn as fuck, but this is...”_  
“Stupid? Insane? Delusional? Bonkers? Totally fucked up?”  
  


Yasha just shrugged and sighed, there really wasn't much to add to that.  
  


“ _At least Natalia has decided to try to rein them in a bit. That should be enough to keep them from doing anything too stupid, or violent.”_  
“Until she decides her interests are better served by egging them on...”  
 _“Unfortunately...”_  
  


This time both of them sighed and Friday decided that it might be a good idea to divert some extra resources to keeping an eye on Romanoff.  
  


“Boss, with your permission I would like to put some extra resources into monitoring the Rogues, especially Romanoff.”  
“Yeah, that's probably a good idea...”  
  


Tony tapped his fingers against the surface of the table as he considered their options for monitoring the Rogues, he really didn't want Friday to have to devote so much of her attention to them, even if she had plenty to spare.  
  


“How would you feel about getting a baby sibling slash assistant to help you keep an eye on them?”  
“Boss?”  
“I have plenty of half-coded AIs that could be modified for the task, that way you wouldn't have to deal with always watching them.”  
“I.. I think I would like that.”  
  


And so the plans for ROAR, _Rogue Observer And Reporter_ , were born, Tony already had a basic idea of how he wanted to code the new AI, adding all the latest in surveillance software and techniques, then have Friday and Yasha guide it.  
He also had a few ideas for a few new variations of stealth drones to allow the AI to continue its work in places where there were no cameras or microphones to access remotely, and maybe it was time to dust off those satellite designs he had used for the Avengers satellite and Veronica...  
  


First things first though, they still had a few more things to go through with the report on the Rogues, then food and rest.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·A Life Stolen But Not Ended·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Boss, Rogers is trying to call again, and he has made several requests to schedule a meeting.”  
  


They were in the middle of cleaning away dinner when Friday brought it to Tony's attention that Rogers was calling again, she had been rejecting the calls without comment while they were working and eating.  
  


“ _How many calls is that now?”_  
“He has been calling a few times an hour, trying multiple numbers.”  
“That meeting he's gunning for, is he using the proper channels?”  
“At Romanoff's strong suggestion, yes. But she only insisted on that once it became clear she and Wilson couldn't dissuade him from requesting one, or convince him to wait.”  
“Alright, keep rejecting the calls for now, I need some time to think.”  
“Done.”  
  


Stubborn as always Rogers had decided he needed to _talk_ to Tony about _Bucky's_ request that he be one of the recipients of the HYDRA information, but no one believed it would be anything other than accusations and arguing.  
  


“ _Might be a good idea to set up a meeting now, or he'll just focus on that during the planning meeting for the 4_ _th_ _of July event.”_  
  


With a deep sigh Tony brought up his calendar, he had already come to the same conclusion as Yasha, he just really, really, didn't want to meet with the Rogues.  
  


“Fri baby, could you set something up as soon as possible? At the compound, don't want any of those assholes anywhere in the tower ever again.”  
 _“Make it the_ backstabber _room, and tell them he's only allowed to bring two people with him, and that they will be expected to submit to a weapons scan, orders from Dr Stark's personal security detail.”_  
“Yeah, that's probably a good idea.”  
“As you wish.”  
  


The so-called _Backstabber_ room was a mid size secure conference room located centrally in the main building and was intended to be used when meeting potentially hostile individuals, it had no windows and was equipped with a wide range of hidden countermeasures.  
The majority of those consisted of various non-lethal weapons, and suppression and detainment systems, but there were a few very lethal options as well, all of it under Friday's expert control.  
Limiting it to three of the Rogues wasn't really about security though, it was more to reduce Tony's stress levels, especially since the most likely people to join Rogers would be Romanoff and Wilson, keeping Barton and his vitriol away.  
The limit as well as the weapons scan would be easy enough to justify as mandatory security precautions due to the attention the video was getting, after all, they really had tightened several parameters of security in response to an increase in both threats and random crazies.  
  


“Does tomorrow at 18:00 sound good?”  
“That'll do, thanks Fri.”  
“I will inform Rogers about the details.”  
“Thanks.”  
  


Tony watched the appointment appear on his calendar before closing it and turning back to the kitchen island only to find that Yasha had already cleared it all away and was wiping the surface down.  
  


“Sorry, was supposed to be my turn cleaning up...”  
 _“You were dealing with_ _ **their**_ _crap so it's the least I can do.”_  
“Thanks...”  
  


Yasha rinsed and wrung out the dishcloth before giving it a sniff and going to the bathroom to dump it into the laundry basket instead of hanging it back on its hook.  
  


“ _I know we were supposed to be watching that new movie tonight, but I'd feel a lot better about this meeting if we could get those biometric locks sorted before then...”_  
  


Tony wasn't the least bit surprised by the request, Yasha had been carrying a few extra weapons since the whole bounty situation started, but he was wary of the risk of someone getting their hands on them, a very real risk if facing off against Romanoff due to the way she had been trained to fight.  
  


“Alright, workshop it is.”  
  


Fortunately the system was mostly completed, the various components just needed to be installed on the various firearms.  
The shock batons already came with a pretty serious biometric lock to protect the arc tech and would shock an unauthorised user, starting at a power that would knock out a baseline human, then rapidly cycle up to max charge if they didn't stop.  
They also had several self destruct options that would destroy them if they were tampered with, and a proximity trigger that would activate if they were taken too far away from Tony or Yasha once they had been checked out of the armoury.  
  


Tony was working on modifying one of the custom sub machine guns, the selective fire mechanism making it a bit of a bitch to work with, when Friday called for his attention.  
  


“Boss, I have the report you requested on the subcontractor if you want to have a look.”  
“Could you read me the highlights while I work please?”  
“Of course.”  
“Perfect.”  
“I can't find any HYDRA connections, but I did find that several members of her family served in the 107th during both the first and second world wars.“  
  


As she spoke Friday brought up several files and old photographs on one of the displays, mostly for Yasha's benefit as seeing the pictures might trigger memories of the men _Bucky_ had served with.  
  


“From what I can find she's a military history buff with a special interest in the Second World War, the 107th, and the Howlies, and she has an avid interest in genealogy.”  
 _“So as far as you have been able to find her interest in the matter appears to be of a purely personal nature?”_  
“As far as I can tell, yes.”  
 _“That's good.”_  
“One less thing to worry about...”  
 _“The list is still far too long.”_  
“Welcome to the life of the rich and infamous...”  
  


Yasha's jaws clenched for a moment at the somewhat self-deprecating quip, Tony was getting better about it, but he still did it far too often.  
  


“ _Enough.”_  
  


The half growled reprimand was accompanied by a gentle cuff which instantly had Tony complaining about how mean Yasha was for using his awesome tech against him.  
  


“ _Then stop putting yourself down.”_  
“Fine... Welcome to the life of the rich and _famous_!”  
  


The huffing and grumbling earned Tony a teasing flick to the ear, which of course triggered another round of mock complaints, and another teasing punishment, Tony never stopped working though.  
  


“Alright, that should do it.”  
  


Tony gave the final gun a pat and put it in the crate with the others.  
  


“Let's go make sure everything is working as it should.”  
  


Yasha instantly perked up, radiating an eager anticipation that made Tony think of a kid on Christmas morning.  
It was the same every time there was a new weapon, or modification, to test, Yasha would be all eager energy until he had the weapon in hand, once he did it was like a switch had been flipped and all that energy turned into a laser like focus.  
  


Tony started out by placing each weapon in the remote firing rig to make sure the lock was working and preventing the weapon from being fired, then he handed them to Yasha who made sure they fired as they should when he was using them.  
Making sure he would be able to fire them with his left had taken a bit of work, but in the end Tony had managed to make the lock respond to the presence of Arc energy in the artificial limb.  
  


“How's the balance feeling?”  
 _“Perfect.”_  
“And no issues with the added weight? Not feeling off in any way?”  
 _“Nothing I can't deal with until I get used to the new weight.”_  
“So there is something... What is it?”  
 _“The weight of the weapon in my hand gives me a sense for how many rounds I have left.”_  
“Ah, and the added weight will throw you off...”  
 _“I'll get the feel for it back in a few sessions on the range.”_  
“Alright, all good then?”  
 _“All good.”  
_

.·:*¨¨*:·A Life Stolen But Not Ended·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Boss, Rogers, Romanoff and Wilson have arrived for the meeting.”  
  


Tony set his tablet aside with a sigh, he would rather be pretty much anywhere else.  
  


“Alright, have security bring them through.”  
  


The security team for the day consisted of a group of former SHIELD agents who had all been burned in the dump, and subsequently saved and hired by Tony, as a result they were if possibly some of the few people who liked and trusted Rogers and Romanoff even less than Tony did.  
  


“Damn, straight to level 10 _Captain America is disappointed_ face.”  
  


Tony snorted in amusement when Rogers balked at being told by the security team leader that they would have to go through a manual weapons check rather than just the automated scan since Romanoff had a habit of carrying several weapons that were undetectable by any normal scanning methods.  
Yasha would have preferred to do the search himself, but they couldn't risk the Rogues feeling the metal hand while patting them down, and Romanoff could always just refuse to be searched by a male guard so they had brought a security team.

As expected Rogers and Romanoff started complaining to Tony about the search, and the choice of room, the moment they entered.  
  


“Ah, sorry about that, they are so devoted, and sticklers for doing things by the book.”  
  


Much to Tony and Yasha's amusement Rogers and Romanoff were so set on complaining that it actually took them a good while to notice that _Blade_ was armed to the teeth, which Rogers instantly started complaining about.

“If complaining is all you're going to do we might as well call this thing off right away. I have better things to do with my time than listening to the two of you gripe about how my personal security operates.”  
“Tony!”  
  


Rogers was clearly gearing to go into another rant, but when Tony started to get up from his seat Romanoff stepped in and silenced her team leader with a hand on his arm, whispering about how they needed answers.  
  


“Well, go on, I don't have all night.”  
  


Rogers' face instantly morphed into a scowl, but he didn't say anything, it would seem his desire for answers was stronger than his urge to scold Tony about his manners, something that confirmed that the topic of the meeting would be his precious _Bucky_ .

“What did you do to Bucky to force him to include you in the people to work with the HYDRA intel?”  
“Seriously Rogers? Are you incapable of asking a question without turning it into a bunch of insane accusations?”  
“Tony!”  
“No, I won't sit here and listen to you spewing accusations. As for his reasons, he fucking said why in the video.”  
  


Rogers actually looked confused at the answer which was more than a little concerning.  
  


“But that doesn't make sense! Bucky doesn't know you! He's got no reason to trust you!”  
  


It took just about everything Tony had not to roll his, or laugh, he couldn't fully contain the sigh though.  
  


“I'm pretty sure HYDRA kept their little wind-up murder doll up to date with their _Most Wanted_ list, which happens to have my name on it next to a nice bold **A** , as in _Threat Level Alpha_ , and an equally bold _**Do Not Engage!**_ and that's just what's on the jacket. Inside there's nice little things like _Do not attempt capture unless near a Chair-facility_ and _Do not engage without heavy artillery support.”_

Rogers instantly went back to scowling, probably because of the murder doll quip, but Tony didn't really care, he wouldn't use Yasha's old name in front of Rogers if he could avoid it.  
  


“I've read my files, Shield and HYDRA alike have been trying to get me since I was a kid and proved myself smarter than Howard. Peggy kept SHIELD off my back and HYDRA never managed to get into a position where they actually managed accomplish anything. They would no doubt make sure to keep their precious Asset informed about that in case we crossed paths.”  
  


“His name is _Bucky_!”  
“I wouldn't be so sure that whatever's left after 70 years of scrambling his brains is the same guy you knew. I'm actually pretty sure it's not, that kind of trauma changes a person.”

Wilson nodded slightly at Tony's comment, his training as a VA counsellor kicking in, but naturally Rogers did **not** want to hear that.

“Bucky remembered me! He just needs some time to feel safe without people hunting and trying to hurt him!”  
  


This time Tony did roll his eyes before voicing a frustrated huff.  
  


“If asking me about what Frosty the Cyborg might be thinking was your only reason for calling this meeting I'd say we're done here.”  
  


For a moment Rogers looked like he was about to pop a vessel, then he launched into a tirade that was about equal part lecturing and demands that Tony contact him immediately if _Bucky_ contacted him in any way, and that he pass on anything and everything he said.

“Forget it! If this goes through I'm not telling you jack shit unless he specifically asks me to. He's a clever puppy, I'm sure he can figure out how to get in contact with you if he wants to.”  
“Tony!”  
“No, if he trusts me enough to give me the information needed to take down HYDRA once and for all I'm not gonna betray that trust by tattling on him to the guy he clearly has no interest in getting back in touch with. You said it yourself, he needs to feel safe from people hunting him, and yet, you keep hunting him yourself...”

For a moment Rogers just stood there, gaping silently at Tony, then he got out of his seat, knocking the chair to the ground as he squared his shoulders into a full on intimidation stance and took a step toward Tony.  
The threatening motion triggered an immediate response as Friday dropped the suppression weapons from their hidden spots, and Yasha stepped forward, placing himself between Tony and Rogers, hand raised in a stop motion.  
  


“Rogers! Back away now! Romanoff, Wilson, don't move!”  
  


The orders came across the speakers in the room as Friday took control of the targeting systems and locked most of the weapon on Rogers, leaving a few trained on Romanoff and Wilson.  
  


“This meeting is over! Don't bother trying to get another one.”  
  


Tony didn't wait for Rogers to snap out of his indignant spluttering, instead he stood up and headed toward the back exit, he kept his steps slow though, knowing that Yasha wouldn't turn his back on the Rogues, leaving him with no option than backing up toward the exit.  
  


Tony was pretty sure Rogers hadn't intended his actions as an actual threat, the man had a tendency of stepping into people's space and towering over them when displeased, Tony wasn't even sure the blatant intimidation tactic was intentional.  
What he was sure of however was that had no intention whatsoever to let Rogers get away with shit like that any more, he was sick and tired of letting people think they could push him around or manipulate him.  
  


Unfortunately he still needed to let people like the Accords Council think they could in order to stay in the loop, it was their belief that they had him under control that kept them off his back, and allowed him to manipulate them into doing what he needed them to.  
If they realised they weren't in control of him they would try to cut their losses and kick him to the curb, and that would be unfortunate as their resources were useful, especially the veneer of legitimacy it gave their operations against HYDRA.  
  


“ _Are you okay?”_

Yasha's concerned voice brought Tony's mind back to focus.  
  


“Yeah. I think... Maybe... I don't know... Not really I guess...”  
  


He ran his fingers through his hair in a familiar gesture of frustration before stepping up to Yasha and seeking the comfort of his soldier's solid heat he burrowed his face against his neck.  
  


“I just hate how exposed I feel around them without my suits.”  
  


Yasha didn't answer him, or ask any more questions, instead he just wrapped his arms around Tony to keep him steady, waiting to see if he would say anything else and Tony allowed his body to sag into the familiar strength.  
  


“Logically I know I'm at least as strong and fast as Romanoff now, and I know that if I play defence I can hold off against someone like Rogers for a good while, but my fucking issues refuse to get with the program.”  
 _“You are stronger and faster than Natalia, your Phoenix is far superior to the watered down serum the Red Room used. She's still a bit more agile and flexible though, and for now she is the more experienced fighter. But those are things that can be remedied with training.”_

Yasha's words held a dark promise, he would make sure Tony surpassed anything the Red Room had ever created, had ever dreamed of creating, in every way that mattered.  
They remained standing in silence for a while before Tony allowed Yasha to guide him back to the Quinjet and once in the air, safe from any prying eyes, or ears, Tony spoke up again.  
  


“I think it's time to place a call to Wakanda and see if Princess firecracker is willing to give a few more pointers about making a nanotech suit. It would be nice to be able to always carry one with me without people realising.”  
 _“That would definitely be useful.”_  
“Alright, time for the next generation of Iron Man to be born!”

The first generation had been a monstrosity of mismatched metal, the Mark II, though far sleeker he still required the aid of the assembly robot to get in and out of it, then came the Mark V, though not as tough it was portable and self assembling.  
Then came Mark VII with its automated deployment and assembly and the XLII with it's modular design, then the XLVII with the new retractable helmet.  
The Wraith suit was based off the XLVII but was lighter and focused a lot more on stealth, including retro-reflective panelling. _  
_

.·:*¨¨*:·A Life Stolen But Not Ended·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Dr Stark, it's good to hear from you.”  
  


T'Challa was every bit as formal as always, well aware that the call through the official number of the Wakandan palace was no doubt being monitored by multiple parties.  
  


“Likewise your Highness, I'm afraid this isn't a social call though.”  
  


Contrary to popular belief Tony could be perfectly polite and formal when the situation called for it.  
  


“Sergeant Barnes' request in response to the bounty. Quite an inconvenient turn of events.”  
  


T'Challa clearly wasn't in the mood to beat around the bush which suited Tony just fine, it wasn't his primary reason for reaching out to Wakanda but it made a perfect excuse for meeting T'Challa and Shuri somewhere private.  
He didn't miss the double edged remark, leaving it open for interpretation whether it was the bounty, or the way they had announced the request that T'Challa be one of the parties to receive the information about HYDRA that was the inconvenience.  
  


“Indeed. I believe it would be a good idea for us to meet up and talk it over, ideally somewhere with a few less ears listening in.”  
  


On the screen Tony could see T'Challa turn and say something to Okoye and Nakia before turning back and nodding.  
  


“Would you be able to fit a visit to Wakanda next week?”  
“It's a bit short notice but I can definitely make that work.”  
“Excellent, I will send a jet for you and your guard detail.”  
“Thank you your Highness.”  
“Until then Dr Stark.”  
  


Tony's Xhosa was far from good enough to translate whatever it was T'Challa said before disconnecting the call, but Friday explained that it was a form of Wakandan blessing before giving a translation.  
  


“I believe the most accurate translation would be _May Bast grant you claws in return for your heart_.”  
 _“A warrior's blessing. Stay true to the deity of choice and receive a part of their power.”_  
“The Norse pantheon turned out to be real, aliens, but real, so why not Bast...”

Tony's grousing about how myths should stay myths earned him a few teasing quips  
  


“Fri, how much work would it be to clear the calendar for next week?”  
“Not much, a few meetings that need to be cancelled or moved. You are ahead of schedule on the current R&D projects so that's all clear. We should probably answer more of the questions and post the next segment though.”  
“Great, clear it all up and prepare the outline for the next video please.”  
“Got it Boss.”  
  


It took a few hours to get everything set up for a new recording session, and Yasha would probably need to take a few breaks this time as they had selected the questions about the creation of the Winter Soldier, and they had agreed not to skimp out on the details.  
Because of the potential stress triggers they had also agreed Tony would gear up in the Winter Soldier gear to allow him to play the role of _Ice,_ that way he would be able to enter the room and interrupt if it seemed like Yasha was starting to slip.

“Good to go?”  
 _“Good to go.”_

Tony nodded and headed to the small control room, then gave Yasha the all clear signal and watched him go through the same greeting as last time, putting the arm on display, before taking a deep breath and focusing on the camera.  
  


“A warning for anyone intending to watch this, I'll be telling the story of how the Winter Soldier was created and controlled, something that is **not** for the faint of heart.”  
  


Reaching over to the side he grabbed the large bottle of iced vodka and poured a large shot into the metal tumbler in front of him and drained it before slapping it down against the table.  
The serum would keep him from getting drunk, but the brief, rough burn of the cheap bootleg vodka would act as a distraction.  
  


“The Asset was first conceived in the aftermath of the battle of Azzano. I was captured by HYDRA troops and forced to build their weapons, but I grew too weak to work and was sent to the lab for Arnim Zola to experiment on. One of his experiments was an attempt to recreate Abraham Erskine's serum to create super soldiers of their own.”  
  


He briefly mentioned the rescue and his time as one of the Howlies, nothing but a footnote in the story.  
  


“The serum allowed me to survive the fall from the train, though it wasn't able to save my arm. I was found and brought bleeding to HYDRA who didn't bother with anaesthesia or analgesics as they cut away what remained of my arm and fitted me with this thing.”

He gave the camera a quick wave.  
  


“I woke up several times during the procedure where they sawed my arm off and _bolted metal struts to my bones_ to support the weight of the metal and jacked it straight into my spine and brain, something that would have _killed any baseline human_.”

Noticing the Russian slipping into his words Yasha paused to pour another shot and downed it before continuing to talk about the torture and conditioning as they tried to break him, tried to make him comply.  
He was about halfway through the part of the story that predated the shattering when Friday picked up on the telltale signs that he was starting to slip, prompting Tony to put the mask on and head to the recording room.  
  


“ _Winter?”  
“Ice, what brings you here?”  
“Returning from perimeter check.”  
“Can't sleep huh?”  
“Too many memories.”  
“Come, join me for a moment.”_

Tony entered the room and moved over to the bed and took a seat, waiting to see what Yasha was up to.  
  


“This is _Ice_ , one of the countless people hurt by HYDRA's Winter Soldier program, and my support technician.”

Technically it was all true, the program was the reason Tony's parents had been killed, hurting him, but anyone watching the video, not knowing the truth about the program, would see the gear and interpret the words to mean that he was a Winter Soldier as well.  
  


“ _Ice, why don't you introduce yourself to the poor schmucks that are going to be watching this crap.”  
“Uhm, hello?”_

Tony put on a show of confused and shy which made Yasha snicker at him.  
  


“Yeah, things like interpersonal relationships and all that shit aren't very high on HYDRA's list of things to _teach their assets_ , takes a while to re-learn after getting away from them. _Come on Ice, I know you can do better than that._ ”  
 _“Winter says my name is Ice until I pick one for myself. I was in a bad place and he came to me, took me away from it. Winter set me free so now I help him fight.”_

Tony chose his words carefully, twisting them and mixing in some metaphors, but none of what he said was really a lie.  
  


“Isn't he just the most precious thing?”  
  


Yasha's tone turned teasing as he reached out and ruffled Tony's hair.  
  


“ _I'm fine here Ice, why don't you head up to Control and help keep an eye on things?”  
“Will you join us for food?”  
“I don't think so, why don't you bring me something when it's time?”  
“Complying.”_

With the distraction successful and his mood back to a more normal range Yasha turned back to the camera to continue the story of how the Winter Soldier had been created, making sure to include as many details as possible.  
He spoke about the arm, how maintenance and upgrades were done without disabling the clamps, about how he was taught to fight by setting him up against increasingly large groups of enemies, often prisoners who had been promised freedom if they beat him.  
He spoke of how they tested all kinds of drugs and toxins on him, how they starved him and what they fed him when they bothered with food.  
He spent a good 10 minutes talking about how it felt to have the Memory Suppressing Machine rip through his mind and burn away everything that made him a person.

“The Chair didn't really erase memories, at least not when used on me, it damaged the tissue but the brain has some amazing redundancy and the serum allowed me to heal the damage. The memories are all in here...”  
  


He tapped a finger against his temple.  
  


“The problem is that the synaptic pathways _don't heal the way the rest of the tissue does_ , they have to reform naturally, sometimes this happens spontaneously, but most of the time a trigger is required, a sound, a smell, a sight. _The cold always brought back fragmented memories of the cryo process._ ”

Just speaking about it sent a shiver down his spine.  
  


“The longer they waited between wipes the more I healed, the more I remembered, and as I remembered I fought them. _Refused to comply, killed those I could get my hands on._ ”

Just as much time was devoted to explaining the feeling of being frozen alive, detailing how the serum allowed, forced, him to stay conscious while his body froze, fully aware of what was happening until the critical temperature was reached.  
  


“Like frostbite the cryogenic freezing process doesn't hurt, _not physically at least_. But since they never bothered to add sedatives to the drug cocktail they gave me while strapping me into the chamber the _psychological trauma_ was extensive.”

He took another shot of vodka, shuddering at the phantom sensations and memories when he touched the chilled tumbler then letting out a sigh in relief as the strong alcohol burned his throat and sent a rush of heat through his body before the serum kicked in.  
  


“The thawing however is a completely different story...”  
  


There was a moment where words failed him and he rubbed absently at the spot over his heart where one of the electrodes of the cryosuit had connected to his skin, allowing the technicians to administer defibrillation without needing to touch him.  
  


“Just like with _frostbite the pain starts once the tissues start to warm up_. The serum and the drugs they gave me prevented some of the more severe tissue damage and quickly healed the rest, but did nothing for the pain, quite the contrary, the serum enhances my senses, _including my sense of touch and pain_.”

The bitter laugh came unbidden, but he didn't try to stifle it.  
  


“You know, HYDRA has these little _things they love to recite...”  
_

 _\--Cut off one head and two more shall take its place--  
\--Compliance will be rewarded--  
\--To build a better world, sometimes means tearing the old one down--_

“The ones in charge of the Winter Soldier program had a favourite of their own.”  
  


 _\--Order only comes through pain--_

“ _This was something they eagerly applied.”_

He brought his left hand forward and cycled through closing the fingers one by one, starting at the pinky, before opening the hand into a claw gesture, then splaying the fingers fully and slamming it against the desk.  
  


“They applied pain _over and over,_ punishing even the slightest acknowledgement or reaction to pain with even more pain _. They kept doing this_ until the only pain that could break past my control, my defences, and bring out any reaction was that of the Chair _tearing my mind apart._ ”

Closing his eyes he took a few moments to calm down, apologizing for the digression.  
  


“ _Where were we..?”_

The words were barely audible, as if he was talking to himself, and faded into silence, leaving only the sound of metal fingers against the surface of the desk, middle and index fingers tapping out the rhythm of his heartbeats.  
  


“Ah yes, thawing from cryo...”  
  


With his thoughts once again calm and collected he looked into the camera and continued his story.  
  


“Once sufficiently thawed they would put me into the Chair, burn away any memories recovered during cryo to _make sure I wouldn't remember who I was and try to rebel._ Making sure that I would carry out whatever mission they had for me without hesitating.”

His subconscious control over the arm made the speed of the rhythmical tapping increase as remembering how HYDRA would use the triggers right after a wipe made his pulse pick up slightly.  
  


“Between the Chair burning away my memories and the time spent in cryo I don't know how long it took, but eventually I started to break, _and the Asset was born_. But this wasn't enough for them, between the constant memory wipes and _experimental brainwashing methods_ they were able to implant triggers, _words that forced absolute obedience when used._ ”

He didn't go into any details about how the triggers had been implanted though, instead he made it very clear that he considered that knowledge far too dangerous to ever share.  
  


“HYDRA did try some other methods, especially after _the triggers started to become less effective_ , I became able to fight while they were being recited, and the duration of the effect began diminishing. They wanted a way to make the compliant state of the triggers _permanent_ , ideally without needing to use any triggers. They also wanted a way to permanently suppress my _memories without needing to use the Chair_.”

Time to put another nail in the coffin they would bury Rogers in if he tried anything, bringing to light his actions in regards to the witch.  
  


“One of the things they tried to use was the mind _altering abilities_ of the now deceased Wanda Maximoff, codename Scarlet Witch, a HYDRA volunteer who gained, and trained, her abilities at HYDRA's hands.”

It took a bit of effort to keep his tone at least somewhat civil but he knew that his distaste for the witch was showing, that wasn't a bad thing in itself but he needed to appear reasonably in control of himself and not give anyone an excuse to consider him unstable.

“She _joined HYDRA alongside her twin brother, seeking revenge against Dr Stark_ after their parents were killed in a bomb raid. According to her file she stated that she and her brother spent days trapped in the ruins next to an _unexploded shell stamped with the Stark logo,_ which in the mind of a child was the same as if Dr Stark had pulled the trigger himself.”

Feeling his control starting to crack he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

“It's understandable for a child to react like that, but she _never bothered to re-evaluate_ that stance, even after Dr Stark _closed down the weapons division_ of Stark Industries, which at the time was its primary field. _The reason why Dr Stark_ closed down the weapons division after his _three month stint as a prisoner of the Ten Rings_ is well known. _He found out that Stark weapons were finding their way into the hands of the enemy, of terrorists._ ”

Pausing to pour another shot Yasha apologised for the increasing amount of Russian, adding a wry quip about how it was an excellent language to be angry in.

“It was later found that it was Obadiah Stane who was selling under the table, _including faulty stock that had been flagged for destruction_ , which explains the unexploded shell as Stark weapons are well known for _never failing_. And yet the Maximoff twins _still blamed Dr Stark, the man who stepped up and took care of the problem the moment he found out._ ”

He explained about how the Maximoff twins had volunteered for the experiments, how the witch had grown increasingly erratic, pulling her brother along, he spoke of how she trained her powers, ripping the minds of prisoners apart.

“In the end HYDRA's plan didn't work, the initial attempts didn't have the desired effect, and with repeated exposure I _developed a resistance_ , and some **very** negative reactions to her powers and HYDRA were concerned that proceeding would _unmake the triggers_ , costing them their asset.”

Yasha sighed in relief when a knock on the door frame interrupted him and he looked up to find Tony waiting with a cart piled high with food.  
  


“ _Yes?”  
“Your food.”  
“Ah, thanks Ice, come on in.”_

As usual the food was the kind of hearty fare one could expect to see when a bunch of hungry soldiers needed to be fed with minimal cost, and using ingredients with near infinite shelf life without refrigeration.  
This time it was a thick pea soup, not the puréed kind, made with whole yellow and green peas, onion and cured pork belly that was served along with a coarse, dark, rye bread and an extra pile of roasted pork belly chunks.  
The kind of food you put on the stove and forgot about, though in their case the soup and bread was actually reheated from frozen, and the pork belly had just been given a quick fry-up, it still looked authentic enough though.  
  


“ _Ice, would you stop the camera please?”  
“Complying.”  
“Now now Ice, what have we said about that?”_

Tony paused and ducked his head, playing at an apologetic tone as he turned back to face Yasha.  
  


“ _No more handlers, no more compliance.”  
“That's right, and how do we respond when accepting a request from a college or friend?”  
“Okay?”  
“Mhm...”  
“Okay Winter...”_

With a nod Tony walked up to the camera and turned it off, then promptly broke down laughing.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·A Life Stolen But Not Ended·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Yasha just shook his head and ladled some of the soup into the large bowl cup and started eating while waiting for Tony to calm down and catch his breath.  
  


“That was kinda fun.”  
 _“That's because you're insane.”_  
“You wound me _Soldier_.”

Yasha reached out and removed Tony's mask, revealing a teasing grin to match the tone of his voice.  
  


“On a more serious note though, how are you holding up?”  
 _“Better than I thought I would, I think it helps that no one's actually in the room.”_  
“Oh?”  
 _“Remember, they were pretty big on secrecy when they made me...”_

Tony instantly paled as Yasha's words brought back memories of BARF sessions that he had buried in that box he had marked _NOPE_ _∞_ , Nope to the power of infinity, as in _I hate my almost perfect recall and would love to just erase this shit_ .  
Part of Yasha's early training, and Tony used that word very loosely, before there were any missions had been a twisted nightmare version of SELE, _Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape_ , and RTI, _Resistance to interrogation_ , training.

The so called _training_ was essentially torture sessions spanning weeks, even months at a time showcasing all the worst tortures imaginable, both psychological and physical, things like starvation and sleep deprivation was just the baseline.  
Things like extreme sensory deprivation and various sensory overload techniques, overwhelming Yasha's enhanced senses with everything from sounds and smells to extreme temperatures, were in constant use as well.  
He couldn't suppress the shudder as the images of what he personally considered the worst aspects of the torture came to life in the back of his mind, BARF projections of Yasha's all too detailed memories of the unspeakable depravity that was sexual torture.

“Come on котенок.”  
  


Yasha's soft words were tinged with concern and guilt and gradually broke through the hazy chaos of Tony's mind.  
  


“ _Come back to us...”_

It was that hint of guilt more than anything that cut through Tony's mind and brought him back to reality and the awareness of his own panic, moments later his eyes began properly tracking his surroundings again, then locked on Yasha's.  
  


“ _That's it, look at me and stay focused.”_

Tony started by focusing on the familiar sound of Yasha's metal fingers tapping against the desk, the rhythm of his pulse, slow and steady, then he reached out and placed his hands on Yasha's chest to feel the rise and fall of the deep, controlled, breaths.  
With Tony having initiated touch Yasha moved his hand from the desk and placed it over the reactor instead, resuming the tapping, now over Tony's heart, carefully avoiding the metal of the casing as that would make the sensation too sharp, too much.  
Tony took a small step toward Yasha, cutting away the distance between them while closing his eyes again to focus on his other senses and a moment later he felt Yasha shift his weight slightly as he leaned forward, then the touch of a forehead against his own.  
  


Standing there sharing breaths and grounding touch Tony allowed himself to drift until there was nothing but their heartbeats and breaths, his own vanishing from his awareness as they synchronized with Yasha's.  
  


“ _Sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up...”_  
“Hey, don't...”

Yasha's apology made Tony huff at him and pull back slightly so he could look at him properly.  
  


“I don't want you to **ever** hesitate to talk to me if there's something you need to talk about, want to talk about. Even if it's about the shitty crap HYDRA put you through. Hell, especially if it's about the shitty crap HYDRA put you through.”

When Yasha tried to turn away Tony grabbed his head and held it in place, gentle but firm.  
  


“Now, are you going to give me any further explanation about why the empty room makes it easier to talk about the stuff HYDRA doesn't want anyone to know?”  
“Telling you is easy has always been easy. The residual conditioning recognizes you as a handler. And not just **a** handler, but **the** **Handler** , the one at the top, the one with full clearance to all and any information.”  
“Keeping the conditioning to protect HYDRA's secrets from triggering...”

Yasha gave a short nod, that particular conditioning had always been a bit unstable, even while he was still in HYDRA's grasp, he suspected it might be because of the different factions and levels within HYDRA keeping secrets from each other.  
With handlers constantly trying to have him keep their secrets, while revealing those of other handlers and factions, it ended up causing a lot of irregularities and confusion.

“ _Exactly. They usually don't cause much trouble, they have always been flimsy at best, but this is on such a grand scale that there's no avoiding them triggering. With just the camera it's pretty easy to force them down, an actual person would make the compulsion stronger.”  
_ “Alright, that's good.”

Tony snatched a piece of the bread and dipped it into Yasha's bowl, he wasn't really hungry though, even with Phoenix he didn't need quite as much food as Yasha did so at times he would just snack a bit to keep him company..  
  


“How much do you think you have left?”  
 _“Not much, there's just Zemo's use of the triggers left, then maybe some closing words.”_

Yasha would explain how Zemo's use of the triggers without an accompanying wipe left him unbalanced and partially stuck in the compliant state even after the mission had ended, and that left him with lingering compulsions to obey.  
He would also explain how the fragmented memories of Rogers, of being under his command, transferred that compulsion to obey over to him, registering him as a handler.  
  


“ _After that, I need a mission, get all this crap out of my system...”_  
“Fri baby, you heard the man, have a look in the Black files and see if you can't find something nice and juicy for our resident murder kitten to play with.”  
 _“Try to make it something where I can get as messy as it takes.”_  
“One HYDRA special with plenty of squishy filling coming up.”

Friday's quip helped clearing Yasha's dark mood a bit and an hour later the three of them were in the mission room, looking at two bases, the first one was nestled deep in the Kazakhstan mountains, and the second one was located in the Colombian part of the Amazonas.  
  


“Both facilities have a higher than normal number of guards for their size, but I'm partial to the Amazonas location myself. Lots of scientists and likely to have plenty of interesting information on file.”  
  


She brought the Colombian facility up on the central display and brought up the information they had found on it which listed it as a bio-research lab.  
  


“The bio-labs here are into a lot of shady research based on the animals and plants of the rainforest. Including several critically endangered species.”  
 _“As good a reason as any.”_

Yasha didn't really care much which facility they took out, both were research and production facilities with a lot of mid level guards to take his aggressions out on.  
  


“Kazakhstan is mainly a production facility for customised equipment, lots of machinery, a handful of techs, and the guards are likely to be well equipped.”  
“I'm all for wrecking their gear but taking down their bio-labs is definitely a priority.”  
 _“Agreed.”_  
“Guess we're packing the bug spray then.”  
“Target selection confirmed.”

The display with the Kazakhstan target vanished and Friday brought the details about the Colombian facility to focus and started the briefing.  
  


“The terrain surrounding the facility is densely wooded and riddled with booby traps, which according to notes in the file consist mainly of things like spike pits and whip or mace traps.”  
 _“Natural materials, it makes them tough to detect.”_  
“There are mentions of IEDs as well, but those seem to be focused on the few roads in the area, and the metal and chemical components are easy to detect.”  
“So we're taking the _Mirage_ and jumping then.”  
 _“Looks like it would be the safest option.”_  
“It would probably be a good idea to launch something larger as well to secure files and specimens if needed.”

The Mirage was fast and damn near invisible, but it was also tiny, just enough room for the two of them, a suit, an Eidolon drone, and a sufficient amount of weapons and ammunitions, if they wanted to bring anything more than a handful of paper files or drives back they'd need something larger.  
  


“The new Quinjet for Phantom is mostly finished, all flight and stealth systems are good to go.”  
“Yeah, just need to finish up the weapon systems and interior. You go ahead and launch it, we'll catch up and overtake.”  
“Got it Boss.”  
  


Less than 15 minutes later the Mirage took off from the maintenance bay hidden among the private floors of the tower, its retro-reflective panelling and top of the line stealth tech keeping it hidden from anyone who might care to look.  
  


Watching Yasha tear through the facility was a treat as always, though this time he was focusing a bit less on efficiency and a lot more on getting his aggressions out, which made for a gruesome treat, but a treat nonetheless.  
Tony knew that Yasha had grabbed plenty of extra ammo to account for the higher guard density of the facility, but he had a feeling most, if not all of it would still be accounted for when they returned as Yasha hadn't drawn any of his firearms yet.  
Instead he was using raw strength and vibranium edged blades to tear through the guards, alternating between the hypnotic flow of his knife fighting and the breathtakingly brutal force of his own body, and the cybernetic arm.  
  


As always Yasha relied mainly on his upper body for attacks, mostly using his legs for movement, but when he unleashed a vicious sidekick at one of the larger goons Tony found himself very happy that he was wearing the tac-gear rather than the Wraith suit.  
He could hear the ribs break despite the chest armour as the kick connected, and seeing the larger man crash through the wall left Tony with a few issues with the fit of his pants, something that would have been **very** uncomfortable in the sleek Wraith suit...  
  


“Damn, those legs are gonna be the death of me...”  
  


Tony could swear there was some extra sway in Yasha's steps as he stalked toward the door to the next room and with a muttered curse he quickly adjusted himself before following.  
Watching Yasha take on the next group of guards confirmed that the enhanced assassin definitely was showing off, which was a good sign as it told Tony that he had gotten most of the stress out of his system, Tony still hung back though.  
This was Yasha's mission, Tony and Friday were just there to watch his back, to make sure no one tried something uncouth, like trying to sneak up behind Yasha while he was working on his HYDRA therapy.  
  


Once the facility had been purged of personnel they got to work on collecting all the information it had to offer, then began cleaning out all the nasty stuff that they didn't want anyone to get their hands on, they couldn't just blow it up as they did most facilities.  
Usually they would just rig a facility like this to blow, making sure to destroy the dangerous stuff, but this facility was full of endangered animals and plants, they couldn't just kill the animals, nor could they just release them either, that could have dire consequences.  
Instead they would get rid of the dangerous information and experiments, then upload the video using the facility computers, the upload would be tracked back to the location which would trigger an immediate response to investigate, which in turn would bring in the experts.  
  


They did however decide to bring the hybrid dart frogs from one of the experiments with them, according to the research data the mutated _Phyllobates/Dendrobates_ hybrids were producing a poison that was over 100 times more potent than normal.  
They also happened to be crazy cute with the brilliant blue and black of the Blue dart frog mixed with the pale, almost white, blue with hints of green of the mint morph of the Golden dart frog, the combination made them look a bit like ice.  
  


“As far as I can find frogs like these are fairly easy to care for once you have a proper habitat constructed for them.”  
  


Friday had made some quick searches about caring for dart frogs as pets and soon she had Tony and Yasha running around the lab collecting plants and other materials so that they would be able to build a proper vivarium for them.  
She also instructed them to bring the pair of smaller vivariums that were already set up, explaining that a newly built vivarium would need to be allowed to cycle for a few weeks to make sure the environment was healthy and safe before introducing the frogs.  
The smaller vivariums would be cramped, but it was still the safer option for the frogs.  
  


“I guess my baby girl just got herself her first pets then.”  
  


Tony was more than happy to let Friday take care of them if she wanted to, caring for something like a pet could be a good development lesson for her, and the amphibians had much simpler needs than for instance a dog, making them a good place to start.  
  


“Thank you Boss! I will make sure to take good care of them!”  
 _“They grow up so fast.”_  
  


Yasha was radiating a calm, almost lazy energy as he carefully used what looked like a mix between a pair of tongs and an ice cream scoop to catch the frogs and move them to one of the assortment boxes they had found in one of the labs.  
  


“Mhm.”  
  


Friday once again found herself _feeling_ strongly, the feelings were very familiar ones, flowing with the connection to Phoenix, giving her words, names to label them with, pride and joy, not just her own but that of her _father_ as well.  
  


“ _A young lady to be proud of. You have raised her well.”_  
  


She had noticed that Yasha was more verbal about emotions since the crash, since Phoenix allowed her to forge a true bond with her creator, she wasn't entirely sure, but she suspected it was a way to offer her a means for insight in lieu of the bond.  
  


“A father's pride indeed. But I can't take all the credit, you've taught her a lot about how to be a person.”  
 _“I guess I have a pretty unique perspective on the process...”_  
“Yeah, you do.”  
  


Tony carefully secured the last crate in the Quinjet before checking with Friday to make sure they had everything.  
  


“We're all good, Boss.”  
“Alright, set the upload and let's get out of here.”  
  


Yasha had barely taken his seat before Friday had them airborne, and moments later she was asking Tony for permission to order additional items for her new pets.  
  


“Of course sweetie, order anything you need or want.”  
“May I also have permission to use a few of the spare panels of the workshop secure panelling to construct a tank?”  
“Of course. Need something extra secure to keep these contained, we don't even know if they will lose their poison like their normal cousins. Would be bad if the vivarium broke.”  
“Thanks Boss.”  
 _“How about we make sure to get some sleep on the way back so we can start the build right away?”_  
“Definitely a good idea. Fri, how about you draw up any sources you think might be useful and make some designs for the interior while nap?”  
“Will do Boss.”  
“Sweet dreams Snowflake.”  
“I'm in a good mood, so I think I'll be fine.”  
  


The teasing tone made it quite clear what kind of dreams they were referring to, making Friday huff and call them lechers.  
  


“Sticks and stones Baby, sticks and stones.”  
 _“Guilty as charged...”_  
  



	24. Of Dreams and Delusions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more less than accurate psychology babbling :p

.·:*¨¨*:·Of Dreams and Delusions·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Friday didn't bother to push the larger Quinjet, making the trip home a nearly 5 hour flight which gave Tony and Yasha all the sleep they needed, and her plenty of time to start setting up the unused room she had selected to house her pets.  
With the help of the various bots that were available to her she had moved and modified several spare pieces of workshop fixtures to build a frame for the vivarium tank to allow easy access, then used the laminated workshop glass for the tank.  
  


“ _Damn girl, you've been busy.”_  
  


Despite hearing Yasha's exclamation Tony still did a double take when he entered the door.  
  


“No kidding baby, you're going to spoil those frogs rotten.”  
  


The entire back wall of the room was now occupied by what looked a bit like a closet wall with heavy duty base cabinets up to about waist height, then a full glass front topped off with slim overhead cabinets.  
A secure display cabinet had been placed at one side of the room, no doubt to put the smaller vivariums in, and the other side was dominated by a worktable and a huge pile of delivery boxes from various pet suppliers geared toward reptiles.  
  


“Let's get those frogs settled in then we can start looking at what we need to do to get those designs of yours going. Might want to bring in one of the portable projectors as well, should make it a bit easier.”  
“Alright Boss.”  
  


Most of the work for Tony and Yasha would be to install the high precision robotic arms that would allow her to tend to her pets on her own, every metre both above and below the main enclosure, hidden in the cabinets.  
They would also help her install the environmental control systems, starting with the water circulation and filtration system to make sure humidity remained above 80% at all times, pumps, filtration systems and several mist sprinklers.  
The second major system to build was heating and cooling to make sure it would maintain the approximate 20-23 ° C daytime temperature and slightly lower night temperatures, a ventilation and air circulation system was included as well.

Friday would build things like the drainage and water table layers as well as drip walls and other water features herself though, they just needed to build the backbone structures and make sure she would be able to use the robotic arms to maintain them.  
  


“An ambitious project...”  
  


Tony hummed and poked around at the design plans that Friday was projecting, doing a quick estimate of the amount of time it would take them to get the actual build part of the utilities for the tank done.  
  


“Fri, clear the rest of the week please.”  
  


They would be able to get it done before they needed to leave for Wakanda, but only if they ditched work for the rest of the week, it wasn't really all that much actual work, instead there would be a lot of waiting for adhesives and expanding foam to set and cure.  
At least the adhesive developed specifically for the special laminate glass was non-toxic and fast curing so they didn't need to risk using regular ones that might not adhere properly.  
  


“But Boss....”  
  


Friday was instantly objecting, well aware that a few of the meetings were on Pepper's priority list, meaning they were important, and missing them would get Tony in quite a bit of trouble.  
  


“Don't worry sweetie, Pep will love your lethal little croakers, and she will definitely agree that it's more important to make sure they get a proper, healthy, home as soon as possible.”  
“Okay Boss, I'll talk to her...”  
“Include some nice pictures of your babies too, she won't be able to resist all that cuteness.”  
  


Tony didn't wait for her to reply, instead he reached out and rapped his knuckle against the reinforced elbow plate of Yasha's arm to get his attention.  
  


“Knife please.”  
  


A moment later the slightly warm handle of one of the smaller blades that Yasha carried hidden beneath his clothes was placed in his hand and Tony started cutting away strapping bands and tape from the pile of boxes so they could check and sort the contents.  
  


“Boss, Ms Potts wants a word with you.”  
“Of course, put her on.”  
  


There was a moment of silence as Friday informed Pepper that she was on speaker.  
  


“You two are so lucky I happen to like cute little things!”  
  


There was no mistaking the sharp edge of her tone, there would be a price to pay somewhere down the road which made Tony wince slightly, she could be _creative_ ....

“We know dear...”  
  


Yasha just shook his head with a smile and left Tony to try to placate the woman while he opened up the remaining boxes and began sorting the items into the rack shelves that had been set up along the wall next to the door.  
The way it had been set up made him believe that it was only intended to be temporary during the build phase, then replaced with something else.  
  


“So much for my trusty bodyguard keeping me safe...”  
  


Tony's mock complaint as he ended the conversation with Pepper was rewarded with a rather crooked look from Yasha.  
  


“ _I'm not foolish, or suicidal, enough to piss Pepper off if I can avoid it.”_  
“Aw, the big bad fearless assassin is afraid of sweet little Pep...”

Tony's teasing quip made Yasha scoff at him, knowing well that the woman could scare Tony into compliance without much effort, she had a way of wielding her words with deadly accuracy, and she had the means to make life very uncomfortable for her targets.  
The power she gained from the stabilized Extremis was just a bonus, her true strength was that of her mind, courage and unbreakable will, unlike Extremis those were weapons that could be wielded against any enemy.  
  


“ _Only an idiot feels no fear. And I may be missing a whole bunch of the normal screws but I'm no idiot. And I would hardly call her sweet...”_

He knew better than to underestimate an opponent, and she was the kind of person who could destroy someone without ever giving them a chance to fight.  
  


\--Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.--  
  


Friday's quote had both of them nodding in agreement.  
  


\--There is nothing to fear but fear itself.--  
  


Tony countered with a quote of his which made Friday respond with a humming sound as she considered the possible meanings and implications of the counter.  
  


“I'm not sure I understand...”  
“That's okay, fear is a pretty big and complicated topic.”  
 _“It's supposed to keep us safe, make us avoid danger, but it can also make us irrational, unpredictable, and dangerous.”_

Tony listened to Yasha and Friday's conversation, occasionally offering a comment of his own, while he checked all of the equipment that Friday had ordered, he would definitely have to build something better to replace them later, but for now it would have to do.  
It would take a bit of work to replace them with the current design though...  
  


“Fri, I would like to make an adjustment to your design here, it will add a few hours to the build, but it will make it a lot easier to access the pumps for replacement or repairs, and it will make it easier to do maintenance on the drainage and water table layers.”  
“What kind of adjustments?”  
“You already have the frame covering the bottom three layers, mainly for aesthetic reasons I assume?”  
“Yes, and to reduce algae growth from light exposure in the water table.”  
“Well, I'd suggest adding another barrier between the water table and the drainage layer and put access panels at the bottom edge as well. That would make it easier to access the pumps and clean the water table and filters if needed.”  
  


He added the suggested changes to the projection of the design and showed how the added access points would make some aspects of maintenance easier, even if they would have to drain the water in order to open them.  
  


“We would have to add an extra basin underneath to collect the water.”  
“We'd need that anyway for safety in case of a leak.”  
  


There was a moment of silence, then the protection revision number updated, signalling that Friday had accepted his suggestion.  
  


“Estimated production time for the new front panel is 54 minutes.”  
“Alright, let's get the old one off and get to work.”  
  


They quickly fall into a rhythm, comfortably shifting in and out of each other's space as they work, conversations drifting idly through a wide range of topics.  
  


“You okay with those new memories there Frosty?”  
  


Tony watched the familiar blankness of memories triggering as Yasha used the cybernetic hand to carefully bend a piece of heated PVC pipe and hold the shape while it cooled.  
  


“ _I'm fine. They're not bad ones.”_  
“Care to share?”  
 _“I'm on a ship, it's low on crew and no real maintenance crew. We are taking on water and something is wrong with the bilge pumps in the flooding compartment, they can't keep up. My handler orders me to help with repairs.”_  
“Alright, that sounds pretty mundane.”

Yasha just shrugged, he had quite a few of those memories, especially from the earlier years when those in charge of the Winter Soldier considered it a waste to keep him on ice and would use him for heavy labour or hire him out to other projects, like the Red Room.  
There were less and less of those memories in later years though as the Asset's personality grew stronger, more resilient to the conditioning, making them use the chair and the words a lot more, and putting him in cryo to slow the progression.  
  


“ _It's... I don't know, confusing? Unsettling...”_  
“It bothers you to have memories of that place that aren't all bad, or even sometimes good.”  
 _“It does...”_  
“Well, in this memory they had you create and save lives, even if they might have been the lives of bad people, rather than destroy and kill.”  
 _“The crew of the ship were just regular people, not HYDRA... They didn't know who they were working with.”_  
“See, your orders to help with repairs saved innocent people. That's a good thing.”  
 _“I don't want memories like these...”_

There was an edge in Yasha's voice that made Tony pause for a moment to consider the words and the implications behind them.  
He could understand that Yasha didn't want to associate anything even remotely positive with past handlers, with HYDRA, but they both knew that the world wasn't all black or white, no action, no person or group were ever pure black, or pure white.  
  


“Bad people can do good things and still be bad, they do all the time. Just as good people do bad things and remain good. It doesn't really matter if they intended it or if they had any choice...”  
 _“I know. Black or white just makes things easier...”_  
“Things are rarely that easy, for better, or worse...”

Yasha just nodded to that, as much as he hated seeing anything even remotely good in any action of HYDRA or its agents he also knew that he himself, and Tony, both made their true home pretty far into the greys of that particular scale.  
  


“Regardless of their intentions or methods, they created **you** , and **you** are something good, what they forced you to do doesn't taint that, neither does the darkness you have been forced to embrace...”

Yasha wasn't sure about what exactly it was in Tony's words, or tone, that spurred him to move, there was just a sense of absolute certainty as he wrapped his arms around the smaller man and pulled him tightly against his chest.  
  


“ _I wasn't forced to embrace_ _ **this**_ _darkness,_ _ **this**_ _I chose freely, willingly and knowingly. One of the first choices I made that was truly of my own free will, that truly matters.”  
_

Tony's grumbled complaint about how Yasha's sappiness was contagious was rewarded, or maybe more like punished, with a smouldering kiss, and less than subtle suggestion that they take a break and eat some proper food.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·Of Dreams and Delusions·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Boss, Yasha.”  
  


They both hummed in acknowledgement, but neither of them looked up from their current projects.  
  


“According to your report on the shared dreaming you should be going in again tonight so perhaps you should make sure everything is ready?”  
  


Loki had been adamant that they shouldn't wait to go back in even if he probably wouldn't be able to join them, he had explained that it was all part of building familiarity and tolerance for the magic and that second time locked the connection to the magic.  
  


“Already?”  
“It has been a week.”  
“Damn...”  
 _“For a genius you really suck at keeping track of time.”_  
“Meh, you know time is relative and all that.”  
 _“I don't think that applies in this case...”_  
“Oh, stuff it...”  
  


Tony grumbled and did a last check on the coding he had been doing for ROAR before locking the AI core down again.  
  


“I guess we should make sure we have the proper snacks ready for when we wake up.”  
 _“I'd suggest picking a dinner to fill up the depots as well.”_  
“Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Waking up felt like crap last time...”  
 _“Reminded me a bit of coming out of cryo in the beginning, before they figured out the drug cocktails before and after freezing me. Just without the pain.”_  
“Yeah, let's try to avoid bringing up those memories...”  
 _“It wasn't a reconnect, more like the sense of familiarity you'd normally associate with half forgotten memories.”_  
“A bit better I guess.”  
 _“It felt normal...”_  
“And you liked that even if it wasn't a very good memory or feeling involved, didn't you?”  
 _“Yeah...”  
_

Dinner is quickly managed, as are the snacks for when they wake up, but it's still a bit early to head to bed so they return to the room set aside for Friday's pets to help her go through her plans for the build.  
  


“Have you decided on how to create the background?”  
“I have narrowed it down to three options, first we have 3D printed backgrounds like those that can be bought in stores, we can make those in the prototype printers and paint. Number two and three are the same process, just different base material, either expanding foam or extruded polystyrene foam boards that are carved to shape and treated with a sealant for waterproofing then decorated, either by adding pigment to the sealant, or as additional layers.”  
“Alright, how about we just do the basic pros and cons for all of them?”  
  


Three screens quickly came to life listing the properties of each material, and then began adding pros and cons of each.  
  


“Add flexibility to the pro list on the foam, if you don't like the shape you carved you can easily just add more foam and redo it.”  
 _“That works for repairs as well, another pro.”_  
“It will stick to anything and everything though so all wiring will have to be routed through pipes or hoses to make sure it's easy to replace stuff.”  
“One for the cons then.”

Friday quickly added to the lists as the conversation jumped back and forth.  
  


“ _I think the easy replacement goes for the boards as well, just cut out as much as needed to remove the damage then fit a new piece in and shape it.”_  
“The 3D print would have to be replaced entirely, and it can't really support plants other than perhaps some mosses and similar.”  
“Two points in the cons then.”  
 _“The 3D print doesn't really look like it can hold its own against the other two.”_

The list of pros was short, and the cons were adding up fast.  
  


“I think you're right.”  
  


Friday hummed for a moment, then the display with the 3D print closed down.  
  


“I still think 3D printing is the best option for the liner for that tiny stream you were thinking of making and things that need to be easy to remove or clean. Unless you want to buy pre-made stuff.”  
“I have found a few interesting items, but I can't find any information on the exact composition of the materials, or the quality of the work...”  
 _“So you would rather make your own, based on those pieces you like.”_  
“Yes, there are several 3D printers and SLS machines available in R&D.”  
“SLS?”

Yasha's confusion and curiosity made Tony smile and nod for Friday to explain.  
  


“Selective Laser Sintering, it's a method used to produce 3D items like prototype parts.”  
 _“Like the machine we used to test those knife designs?”_  
“That one is called a DMLS, or Direct Metal Laser Sintering, but the process is the same, just uses metal powder instead.”

Yasha just hummed in understanding while poking at the lists on display.  
  


“ _I think this needs a grading system.”_  
“To compare the importance of various pros and cons?”  
 _“Yes.”_  
“Makes sense.”

Friday quickly added the suggested grading system and with Tony and Yasha's help the scales were quickly adjusted and she decided that she would use the XPS foam boards, the uniformity of the material becoming the deciding factor.  
The expanding foam would end up having a lot of irregularly sized and shaped air bubbles, which would make it more unpredictable during the carving phase.  
  


“Alright then, we'll finish up the last of the backbone tomorrow, then you can surprise us with how it looks when we get back from Wakanda.”  
“Okay, but don't forget that Pepper wants your report on the Rogues reactions before you leave.”  
“Yeah yeah, we know, we'll get it done tomorrow. Not much to report this time.”  
 _“Guess it's time for some sweet dreams then.”_  
  


It was only the fact that Tony had spent half his life as a playboy and incorrigible flirt that kept him from blushing at the tone, and smirk, that Yasha managed to pull, because it was all promise, sex, and pure sin.  
He can feel a matching grin form on his own face, letting his body display promise and suggestion is as easy as breathing, easier sometimes, and Phoenix tells him what his senses were too weak to notice before as enhanced senses reveal the momentary slip in Yasha's usual control.  
  


His mind is now reacting fast enough to register as enhanced hearing picks up on the slightest hitch of a breath, a single heartbeat off rhythm before control slips back into place, but they still settle on a slightly higher rate.  
His eyes now sharp enough to notice the slight movement of the fine hairs on Yasha's arms as goosebumps try to form in response to a shift in emotions and hormones, but are forced back by the absolute control that is the Winter Soldier.  
All that falls aside though as he looks into Yasha's eyes, pupils blown so wide that all that remains of the familiar storm of grey and blue is a narrow ring, glowing bright with the serum and hidden emotion, the sight drawing him in.  
  


Slowly stepping close enough to feel the heat radiating from the serum enhanced body his elevated sense of smell picks up on the subtle cues that he had been unaware of, unable to consciously detect but had always been affected by.  
He knows that Yasha is picking up the same cues from his own body, no doubt in even greater detail with the way Zola's serum enhanced his senses, and the way he had been trained to look for and read every reaction, every tell, no matter how minute.  
  


“You, me, bed...”  
  


Tony can't help the shiver that runs through his body as Yasha responds with a slight shift in posture, an edge of something dominant bleeding into it and a moment later the remaining distance between them closes, pressing the evidence of Yasha's mood against his own.  
The subtle vibration through Yasha's frame could have been mistaken for a shiver if Tony didn't know better, he had no idea how it worked, but he knew that the feeling was actually a growl, so low in frequency it was barely audible even to enhanced ears.  
Yasha didn't know much about it either, he had memories of the desire to growl from before the serum, but none that confirmed if he had actually had the ability, or if it had come later, granted by the serum, or the many experiments.  
  


It takes a lot more effort than Tony anticipated to square his shoulders and ignore the call of dominance rolling off Yasha, his own body telling him to submit to the pleasures he knows can be found in surrendering control.  
 _Not tonight,_ he tells himself as he takes a steadying breath.  
  


“Bed, **now!** ”  
  


He can't pull off a growl the way Yasha can, but he has plenty of experience with the game of dominance and submission, in the boardroom as well as the bedroom, he knows how to drop his voice, how to colour it with dominance and intimidation.  
He also knows it's a bit of a gamble, Yasha has come so far from the barely human Asset that surrendered in Siberia, from the broken shadow of a man who would submit at the slightest hint of dominance from those he considered handlers.  
The Yasha now had developed a strong dominant side, balancing him out, but so far Tony hadn't found any way to tell which reaction he would get when pushing a bit of dominance into their interaction, no way to tell if Yasha would submit or push back.  
  


For a moment the vibration through Yasha's body grew stronger and Tony prepared to be pushed back against the wall, but then all tension bled from Yasha's frame and his head dropped to nuzzle at Tony's neck, submitting and giving Tony control for the moment.  
  


“Come on Snowflake.”  
  


Tony found himself very happy that they had taken the time to shower after dinner, sparing them the additional interruption now as they put the cuffs on before slipping into bed, sharing a heated embrace before Tony nudged Yasha onto his back.  
The soft touches and trailing kisses that followed, mapping out the familiar expanse of Yasha's body, was a teasing torture for both of them, allowing neither the release they burned for before activating the cuffs and drifting into the shared dream.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·Of Dreams and Delusions·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


Without Loki there to guide the process their entry into the shared Dreamscape becomes different, instead of just a moment of darkness followed by awareness they find themselves feeling something very similar to the calibration and synchronization stage of a joint BARF session.  
It makes sense that their minds would pick that though, it's something familiar, when working with BARF the initialization sequence helps them settle into the proper frame of mind to accept that what they are seeing isn't real.  
As the sequence comes to an end they find themselves in a stripped down version of Loki's workshop, detailing mainly the small sitting area backed by the large bookshelves.  
  


With the change of scenery it quickly becomes obvious that Yasha is no longer content to submit and Tony finds himself on his back, being pushed into the mountain of pillows and blankets that cover the thick soft furs, held in place by Yasha's solid weight.  
Looking up Tony once again found himself amazed by just how much warmth Yasha's eyes could hold despite the haunting chill of their colour and before he knew it a single word slipped past his usual control.  
  


“Beautiful...”  
  


A single word, and Tony could feel the sharp edge of dominance bleed from Yasha then be replaced with something softer, he was still pinned down by the familiar weight, lean muscle simmering with the heat of a serum enhanced metabolism, and the air between them cracking with the ever present sense of danger.  
That sense of danger wasn't born from fear, Tony wasn't afraid of Yasha, instead it just was, an unequivocal truth of the world, the sky is blue, the grass is green, water is wet, the Winter Soldier is dangerous, a predator, a killer, as cunning as deadly.  
  


The flesh that pinned his hands above his head was every bit as unyielding as the smooth metal that was brushing down his side, and the voice whispering sweet nothings and dark promises in more languages than he could count would not be denied, or ignored.  
It felt like hours of teasing, and maybe it was, before the grip on his hands finally relented, allowing him to touch the expanse of pale, smooth skin above him, it doesn't take long before his hand drifts to the scars along the seam where skin fuses with metal though.  
It had taken them some time, but they had learned to see their scars not as a weakness, but a tribute to survival, and the brush of fingers against scars is rewarded with a soft gasp before Yasha returns the favour, trailing soft kisses over the starburst of scars on Tony's chest.  
  


The familiar dance slowly brings them into new territory and Tony can feel Yasha hesitate, teetering on the edge, struggling to maintain control as fear and desire waged war within.  
  


“You won't hurt me, let go.”  
 _“I can't...”_  
  


He brings a hand up, gently brushing aside a few strands of hair before cupping Yasha's face, drawing him in for a kiss before whispering against his ear.  
  


“You can. Let go.”  
“...”  
“I trust you.”  
  


Tony could see the moment Yasha let go, allowing his control to slip slightly and it was a sight to behold, he didn't get much time to savour it though as a moment later there's an edge of a familiar, but long forgotten pain that gives way to fire and pleasure in a matter of moments.  
The world fades away and focuses all at the same time and all that exists is the coiled power above him, the heat that connects them, all fire and motion, want and need, insatiable hunger and thirst for each other, for more.  
Then what little control Yasha still held onto snapped with a growl, unleashing the true power of the Winter Soldier, primal, unrestrained, and Tony could feel himself fall over the edge into the abyss, total darkness, blinding white, a rainbow kaleidoscope, all at once.  
  


Slowly returning to awareness the first thing Tony notices is that the familiar heat of Yasha's body is at his front rather than back as usual, the weight of metal across his waist remains the same though, fingers tracing a lazy pattern along his spine instead of resting over the reactor.  
He can't tell how long he's been out, but the smell of books and spice tell him they are still in the Dreamscape and the way Yasha's arm tightens slightly and the movement of his hand becomes bolder tells Tony that there's no point in pretending to sleep.  
  


“I told you so.”  
  


He's somewhat surprised at how hoarse his voice comes out and he is grateful when Yasha ignores his quip and offers him a mug with what appears to be warm lemon water and honey to soothe his throat along with a bottle of ice cold water to quench the thirst that's quickly making itself known.  
  


“Told you it'd be fine, that you wouldn't hurt me.”  
 _“I'm no scientist, but even I know that a sample size of one proves nothing.”_  
  


Yasha's objection was expected and as much as it pained him Tony understood the hesitancy, and wanted to wipe every last trace of that doubt from his mind.  
  


“I guess we better get to work on repeating the experiment then, _Soldier_.”  
  


He pushed gently against Yasha's shoulder and was rewarded with easy submission, flesh and metal on his hips pulled him along as the enhanced assassin rolled over on his back and a slow roll of powerful hips sent a spark of fire racing along his spine.  
  


“ _Ready to comply.”_  
  


The tone was teasing, as was the smile, but there was something open and somewhat vulnerable there as well that made Tony pause and take hold of the cybernetic hand, made him bring it to rest over the reactor, reaffirming the bond of trust.  
  


“You are, aren't you? Ever the perfect _Asset_ , so ready, so willing, to be my _Soldier_.”  
  


If someone were to ask him Tony wouldn't be able to say what drove him in that moment, what made him choose those words, what drove the surging need to take apart the man beneath him, to **claim** him.  
  


“So eager to offer yourself up in _compliance_. Craving to _surrender_ , hungering to give over _control_ , longing to be _wielded_.”  
  


He pauses for a moment and he can see the walls crumbling behind Yasha's eyes, revealing more of that delicious vulnerability, and he loses himself in the sight, almost startling at the soft whisper of a question.  
  


“ _The Asset has discretion?”_  
“The Asset has discretion.”  
  


Tony confirms the familiar exchange without hesitation, as much as he wants to **own** Yasha, **possess** him in every way possible, he knows it would be worthless if not given freely, willingly.  
  


“ _The Asset wants, desires...”_  
  


Tony can tell that Yasha is intentionally drawing on the Asset mindset, using it to prove a point, he knows how those behind the conditioning of the Winter Soldier had made sure to beat even the concept of wanting out of their Asset, weapons do not have desires.  
For Yasha to admit to wanting something while in that state, that's a message onto its own, and done like this, a powerful one.  
  


“So tell me _Asset_ , what do you want, what does a _Weapon_ desire?”  
 _“You.”_  
  


The reply wasn't unexpected and Tony hums in response, part acknowledgement, part question, urging Yasha to elaborate, he didn't really expect him to actually do that though, so he's somewhat surprised when the request is fulfilled.  
  


“ _The Asset, I...”_  
  


Tony takes note of the correction, even now there is an ongoing battle between being an object, and a person, a battle that might never truly end.  
  


“ _Yours... I want...”_  
  


Hearing the somewhat hesitant words Tony was surprised to find that he didn't want Yasha to elaborate any further, not like this, not now, not in their current emotional state and the realization brought with it a sudden, overwhelming, need to silence any further words.  
The kiss that follows is desperate, hurried, and tastes like metal from a cut lip that has already healed, leaving nothing but a drop of blood on skin.  
  


“Ssh, not now. No need to hurry, you tell me when you're ready, when those words come easy.”  
  


There was a glimmer of hesitation, then acceptance, a nod, and then Yasha slipped from the Asset state back to his usual self.  
  


“ _I believe you said something about repeating the experiment?”_  
  


And repeat it they do, testing the variables, including testing just how effective the serum is at eliminating that pesky little detail called a refractory period, they find it's more effective at it than Phoenix, but agree that using the Dreamscape to manipulate that detail won't skewer the results too much.  
  


They do take advantage of the Dreamscape for a few other experiments as well, like all out, full power, no hold barred, sparring, both with and without weapons, including the suit.  
  


“ _In Siberia, if I hadn't broken free, would you have ended us?”_  
“With the suit I definitely had the power to take you down, the question is if I'd have the heart to use it. After all, I carry auto-guided miniature missiles, including bunker busters and laser clips that can cut a tank in half. If all else fails, there's always the Unibeam, not much can withstand that at full power.”  
 _“But the shield can...”_  
“Yeah, it can withstand all of the weapons in the suit, but it can only cover one small target area, a single angle.”  
 _“And you could fire all of those weapons at once, including multiple missiles or laser clips...”_  
“Exactly.”  
  


There was no question if Tony could have taken down both super soldiers, he had the weapons to do it easy, as long as he didn't mind turning his targets into mincemeat.  
  


“Bringing you in alive, that would have been a different ballgame.”  
 _“Not fighting for the kill would have put you at a severe disadvantage.”_  
“Mhm... That part of the entire hero gig really sucks.”  
  


The grumbled complaint made Yasha huff, then laugh and grab Tony, pin him to the wall and proceed to kiss him senseless.  
  


By the time they left the Dreamscape they had ample evidence supporting Tony's stance that Yasha wouldn't hurt him, even if he did lose control and react violently because of what HYDRA had done to him, forced him to do.  
He had snapped a few times and it had been a bit rougher than Tony preferred, but it had been brief, no more than the equivalent of a moment of lashing out before settling back down, and it hadn't done any real damage.  
They both knew it would take a lot more work to get to the point where Yasha would be comfortable with trying something outside of the Dreamscape, without the absolute protection it offered.  
Tony was just as happy though, it may not be _real_ in the full sense of the word, but it was real enough.  
  


.·:*¨¨*:·Of Dreams and Delusions·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Good morning Boss, Yasha. Any interesting dreams?”  
  


Friday's tone was just on the annoying side of chipper as she played a soundtrack of birdsong and turned the lights from low to full while also pulling up a display with the hour by hour weather forecast as well as the nearly empty schedule for the day.  
  


“Morning Fri baby.”  
 _“Morning.”_  
  


They both took careful note of how they were feeling, and apart from some food cravings they felt fine.  
  


“So, what about the dreams?”  
“Sweetie, you are far too young to hear about those.”  
“Boss, are you forgetting that I have cameras and sensors in almost every room of the tower, the Quinjets, and Eidolon?”  
 _“She does have a point.”_  
“Nope, we are **so not** corrupting my innocent little girl with those kinds of stories.”  
  


Yasha just snorted in amusement before reminding Tony that Friday had full access to the internet, including the Darknet which earned him a horrified look that wasn't entirely an act.  
  


“You know, there are quite a few rather _interesting_ stories out there about Tony Stark and his tall, dark and broody bodyguard.”  
  


Friday's quip pulled a groan from Tony and made Yasha look toward the closest camera and tilt his head in confusion, silently asking her to elaborate.  
  


“Fri, don't, I'll explain.”  
“Alright Boss. Breakfast will be ready in 10.”  
“Come on, I'll explain in the shower.”  
  


He grabbed Yasha's arm and tugged lightly and after a few moments of teasing resistance he allowed Tony to pull him off the bed and into the bathroom.  
  


“ _So, I believe you said something about an explanation?”_  
  


There was another groan and Tony knocked his forehead against the tiling of the shower wall but he didn't resist when Yasha pulled his head back slightly and used the handshower to carefully wet his hair then start working some shampoo into it.  
Tony couldn't help the flash of gratitude at how careful Yasha was about it, the feeling of water over his face could still trigger some nasty flashbacks from Afghanistan, especially if unexpected, or not by his own hand.  
  


“You know how people always seem to have this insatiable fascination with celebrities?”  
 _“Mhm...”_  
“Well, there are communities out there dedicated to writing stories about them, most of them pretty, well, _intimate_ , and one of the favourite things to write seems to be stories pairing up various people in a romantic, or sexual, way.”  
  


Tony silently cursed to himself, God he sounded so stupid trying to explain those gossip and fiction groups.  
  


“ _So they write stories about what they believe our relationship, and sexlife, to be like?”_  
“That's some of it, but a lot of it is them using us as characters in their own fantasies, and that stuff can get pretty crazy, and not always in the fun ways...”  
  


He may have read some of it for fun and curiosity, and most of it was little more than various degrees of glorified porn, heck, some of it had made some pretty interesting material for the wank bank, but some of it was seriously dark and disturbing.  
  


“Some of it is just fucking certifiable though, and we're talking HYDRA level fucked up shit.”  
 _“Sounds like something security should be monitoring...”_  
“They are.”  
 _“Good.”_  
  


Feeling the familiar squeeze of his shoulder that told him Yasha was done rinsing his hair Tony turned around and gave the metal shoulder a quick tap, prompting Yasha to turn around so he could return the favour.  
  


“You know, some of those stories are actually pretty good. Some of those writers can be very, _inspiring_...”  
 _“Oh, really?”_  
  


The mix of teasing and curiosity in Yasha's voice sent a shiver down his spine and Tony decided he needed to have a look at some of the sites that published those stories to see what they were writing now, he really hadn't looked since Siberia.  
Since Yasha he realised, carefully picking apart his memories he realised he hadn't had any interest in, well, _external sources of inspiration_ , since the day Yasha had dropped to his knees on a cold concrete floor and surrendered himself.  
Tony almost shook his head at that, he had been doomed the moment he watched Yasha gather himself from that cold floor and retake the kneeling position before him, entirely submissive, willing to accept any fate, even death, if that was what was asked of him.  
At the same time he had been so utterly unapologetic, brutally honest in a way that just refused to be denied and Tony had a feeling that it was that more than anything that had led him to accepting the Winter Soldier and bringing him home.  
  


“Definitely. Been a while since I looked though.”  
 _”Sounds like something that could be interesting to look into on one of those movie night slots on the calendar.”_  
  


The thought of reading through those kinds of stories together with Yasha sparked a shiver of the most delicious wickedness, a tantalizing mix of right and wrong, utterly immoral and delightfully tempting.  
  


“Damn you and your filthy mind.”  
 _“Pot, kettle...”_  
“Asshole.”  
  


The grumbling complaint was accompanied by a few nibbling bites along the scars on Yasha's shoulder which rewarded Tony with a shudder and something that sounded suspiciously close to a needy whine, the absence of Yasha's natural scent made him pause though.  
Yasha always had the scent of metal, leather and gunpowder clinging to him, noticeable, but usually not strong enough to overpower his base scent, a warm mixture of musk, wood and subtle spice tinged with an edge of something cold that Tony couldn't place.  
All in all it made Tony think of a fire-heated cabin in the middle of a snowstorm, warm, safe, home, but with a raging storm of ice and death at the edges.  
All he could smell right now though was the warm, sweet scent of the _Monoï_ products that Yasha insisted on using, not that he minded the scent of _Tiaré_ flowers and nut butters, he just found it amusing that Yasha would pick something so, _soft_...  
  


“Ick, you taste like soap.”  
  


The dark chuckle that followed gave Tony ample warning that Yasha was up to something, but all that did was send another shiver of desire down his spine and a moment later he was pinned against the shower wall and kissed senseless.  
  


“ _We better get out of the shower before Fri turns off the hot water...”_  
  


Tony huffed and smiled at the reminder of Friday's sometimes less than pleasant methods for getting them out of the shower, she really didn't like it when they were late to a meal she had prepared.  
  


“Not that I couldn't do with a cold shower, you Mr tall, dark and deadly, are a fucking tease...”  
“...”  
“Yeah yeah I know, _pot meet kettle_...”  
  


Tony didn't give Yasha time to answer as he kept grumbling while getting dried off, but they both kept trading teasing touches.  
  


“About time.”  
“Sorry Fri, got a bit distracted there.”  
“I noticed...”  
 _“Something smells really nice here.”_  
  


Tony had to agree with Yasha, whatever Friday had made for breakfast smelled heavenly.  
  


“I made sourdough rye toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, fried tomatoes and mushrooms. There's also some _Tamago Kake Gohan_ from leftover rice from yesterday. And I managed to get a jar each of that _Tvorog_ and _Smetana_ you like and some fresh berries.”  
 _“Fri, you are a Goddess!”_  
“Glad to hear _someone_ here appreciates me.”  
  


Tony just smiled at Friday's happy, and mock smug tone while Yasha loaded his plate with toast, eggs and bacon, his beloved tvorog and smetana would be served as a dessert of sorts once they had sated most of their hunger.  
  


“So, Russian breakfast treats are the way to snare the infamous Winter Soldier huh?”  
 _“Naturally.”_  
  


With two supercharged metabolisms to feed breakfast consisted mainly of high protein and fat items such as eggs, bacon or fish, nuts and mushrooms, paired with dairy, vegetables and coarse bread or rice it made for a good base to keep them in good condition.  
They always added something sweet with plenty of quick carbohydrates as well, giving a quick energy boost since even enhanced metabolisms need some time to digest and convert the food to energy, usually fruit smoothies.  
  


Sometimes though when Friday got her hands on some really high quality fruit and berries, or the rich, high fat, Russian smetana that Yasha favoured, she would serve them bowls of plain yogurt or smetana topped with nuts, fruits and berries along with a hefty drizzle of honey.  
Today was an extra treat, at least for Yasha, as she had gotten her hands on tvorog, a Russian cheese curd similar to quark or cottage cheese which she mixed with the smetana for a rich and somewhat acidic base that paired well with the sweetness of the honey, fruits and berries.  
  


“How about we go straight for getting that report sorted so we can focus on something more worthwhile, like watching paint dry...”  
 _“Yeah, I much rather focus on getting ready for Wakanda than deal with that crap.”_  
“You really like it there, don't you? All nice and warm.”  
 _“That too, but... It's untainted by HYDRA...”_  
  


As much as he hated to admit it Tony knew that it was still very possible that there were HYDRA agents within SI, maybe even the tower despite the rigorous vetting procedures for anyone working there, and there were no doubt agents working the businesses around the tower.  
HYDRA had always had an interest in Tony and they would definitely make sure to keep an eye on his primary residence and place of business, and that left both of them uncomfortable around the tower, at least outside the lair and penthouse.  
The magic wards that Loki had added helped a lot though, and they were both looking forward to the more intricate one he had mentioned in the shared dream, a ward that responded to intent, that could detect and warn about malicious intent.  
It wasn't perfect as it would pick up all kinds of malicious intent, but it would give them a heads up, let them know about potential risks, giving the time to have a closer look and monitor potential risks.  
  


“Yeah, no HYDRA is definitely a vacation spot bonus.”  
 _“The food is nice too.”_  
“Yeah, they sure know how to feed super soldiers.”  
 _“T'Challa probably has a similarly accelerated metabolism from whatever it is that makes him the Black Panther, 'cause that's not just the suit. I can feel it...”_  
  


Tony nodded his agreement, T'Challa gave off a subtle sense of danger, a feeling that Tony had noticed around most enhanced individuals he had met, some kind of instinctual recognition of a higher order of predator.  
  


“Yeah, definitely enhanced. But the role of Black Panther seems to have both hereditary and elective aspects to it, following the royal line. Shuri, as kickass as she is, is not enhanced, neither is Queen Mother Ramonda, which makes me think the enhancement is artificial.”  
 _”Could be a dormant genetic component that's activated when they assume the position. Something similar to Terrigenesis.”_  
“Probably. After all we know there had to have been a genetic aspect to Zola's serum, only thing that explains why only you survived. And could be part of why your enhancements differ from Rogers'.”  
 _“Activation of dormant or latent genes.”_  
“Exactly, I think that might be how the Maximoff twins ended up being the only survivors of Strucker's experiments as well. Some genetic quirk being activated.”  
 _“Might be some variation of a dormant X-gene.”_  
“You tested negative for the X-gene though.”  
 _“Could be more than one version though.”_  
“True. The squishy sciences aren't really my area of expertise. Would have loved to be able to pick Green Bean's brain on this one.”  
  


As always Tony's mood dropped like a rock at the mention of Banner, but a soft brush of metal fingers against his face brought out a weak smile.  
  


“ _Focus on the mission.”_  
  


The very, very _Asset_ comment brought Tony back to himself and with a nod he brought up the holographic screens to look through the recordings of the Rogues' reactions one last time before finishing up the report.  
  


“Let's see if this crap makes any more sense today...”  
  


The way some of the Rogues reacted to the story of how the Winter Soldier came to be was somewhat confusing.  
Lang's reaction was what you would expect from someone being told something like that, a horrified mix of disgust and anger, which both focused on Rogers when Maximoff was mentioned, it would seem Lang hadn't been told of her HYDRA past.  
Wilson seemed almost numb, which could just be him simply shutting down, unable to deal with the horror of what was being revealed.  
Romanoff's lack of reaction however wasn't unexpected, she knew what the Winter Soldier was, how he, and others like him, like her, were created, and she had no doubt read the HYDRA files on the Winter Soldier program.  
Barton's reaction was oddly flippant considering his own experience with mind control at the hands of Loki and the Mind stone sceptre.  
  


But the real oddity was Rogers, he didn't seem to care at all about the parts about how HYDRA broke Bucky, but showed strong reactions both when Maximoff was mentioned, and when Tony appeared in the guise of _Ice_.  
When Yasha spoke of Maximoff and her actions under HYDRA Rogers' had reacted by going on about how much she was like _Bucky_ , that she was a poor victim just like him, how much she had changed, and how much _Bucky_ would have liked her if he had only had a chance to get to know her.  
The extremely negative reaction to _Ice_ however reinforced Tony's suspicion that Rogers' interest in _Bucky_ was more than just that of a friend, he had been downright irate, ranting about how Bucky shouldn't trust a HYDRA tool like that.  
Rogers was adamant that _Ice_ couldn't possibly be anything like _Bucky_ , couldn't be reformed, reforming, and had to be trying to trick him so he could be brought back to HYDRA, the whole thing was screaming with jealousy.  
  


“ _There's still nothing in my memories indicating him being anything but a close friend, but this kind of behaviour sure does support that theory of yours...”_  
“Could have been one-sided. Would explain a few things in his behaviour.”  
 _“Attention seeking while also trying to prove himself.”_  
“Mhm, picking fights meant his _Bucky_ came to save him and took care of him while he was recovering from injuries. And at the same time it probably gave him some kind of validation that he was good, brave, a partner worthy of _Bucky's_ strength.”  
  


For a long moment Yasha's fingers tapping against the table was the only sound that could be heard. _  
_

“ _Looks like the other me might have been a bit oblivious...”_  
“Possibly, but since you don't really remember much of what that part of you was thinking, or feeling we can't really know. It's possible that _Bucky_ knew, but didn't share those feelings.”  
 _“Playing at ignorance to avoid having to reject any unwanted advances, trying to avoid embarrassing or hurting a friend's feelings, or making things awkward. ”_  
“Mhm, hoping that it would fizzle out when he didn't reciprocate...”  
 _“Which wouldn't work on someone as stubborn and oblivious as Rogers...”_  
“Definitely not.”  
  


Yasha's laugh was humourless, somewhat reproachful, but not quite bitter, yet at least.  
  


“Hey, don't blame yourself for his shortcomings or mistakes.”  
 _“Part of him is still in here you know.”_  
  


Yasha raised his left and tapped his temple rather harshly, definitely hard enough for it to hurt, and bruise if it wasn't for the serum.  
  


“That still doesn't make **you** responsible for things that happened before you became an entity of your own.”  
 _“I know.”_  
  


There was something in the way Yasha seemed to almost fold in on himself that made Tony turn and grab his shoulders and brush his thumbs along the collarbones, he didn't speak though, instead he just waited for Yasha to collect himself.  
  


“ _All of this... I think... The memories...”_  
  


When Yasha finally spoke up his words were broken, hesitant, and Tony had to bite down the urge to just pull him into a hug and silence him with kisses, as painful as it was to listen to, he knew Yasha needed to talk about it.  
They both knew that they really should be seeing both a psychiatrist and psychologist or counsellor, but their situation combined with the unique nature of their issues, and their origin, made it nigh impossible to find someone suitable.  
For starters there was the massive trust issue, no NDA or doctor-patient privilege would be enough to soothe that, they would also have to be able to handle some pretty extreme crap.  
  


Instead they chose to to learn as much as they could themselves, even though you really shouldn't try to treat yourself, or those close to you, they made their way through textbooks, studies, seminars, everything they could find about anything and everything close to their issues.  
They had two main topics they focused on, first was dealing severe PTSD, which they both suffered from, placing extra focus on anything related to POW's, and victims of kidnapping and torture, which in turn had led them to things like deprogramming and exit counselling.  
This included a few deeply buried works done by SHIELD, or well _SHIELDRA_ , associated practitioners in the aftermath of New York, and Loki's use of the Mind stone.  
  


The second focus topic was dissociative identity disorder, DID was the closest they could find to explain how and why _Yasha_ existed in the first place, even though he came into existence as an adult, not during childhood.  
On top of that it didn't seem like the Asset mindset or the fragmented memories of Bucky were actual alters, but again, without consulting actual experts it would be hard to tell, and even if they did, Yasha's situation was pretty unique.  
  


What had helped the most in Yasha's case though was the information about cults and exit counselling, it had given quite a few ideas and tools for dealing with the more mundane aspects of HYDRA's conditioning.  
The more extreme methods had been mixed with the usual cult indoctrination methods, and Yasha's final handler, Pierce, had been fond of trying to use various forms of manipulation to compel obedience, including good old gaslighting.  
  


Pretty much everything surrounding Project Insight was still a jumbled mess, but Yasha remembered Pierce trying to convince him that his memories of Rogers were just from meeting him when trying to kill Fury, trying to avoid the hassle of a wipe.  
Pierce had tried to talk Yasha into getting back on mission, talking about how his work was a gift to mankind, how he had shaped the century, about how he was needed, when that didn't produce the desired results Yasha had been put in the Chair.  
  


When Yasha fell silent again Tony gave him a slight nudge, expressing his own suspicion about what was going on.  
  


“Are the memories becoming less dissociated?”  
 _“Not really. It's more like they're becoming more... I don't know... More vivid? Real?”_  
“You're starting to feel them rather than just watching them as an outsider.”  
  


It wasn't a question, and it wasn't unexpected, they knew it might happen as Yasha became better able to understand and deal with emotional aspects, one of several theories about the total lack of emotional associations to the memories was that it was simply a defence reaction.  
  


“ _Yeah. Looks like theory about it being a defence mechanism might be on point.”_  
“That's probably going to open up another can of worms, but in the end it should be a good thing.”  
 _“Definitely going to suck...”_  
“I know Snowflake, I know.”  
“...”  
“I know you hate dealing with all those emotions, but we'll face them as we always do and we'll find a way to work through them.”  
 _“Telling me to have some faith huh?”_  
“Of course, you're my kickass Murder Kitten, in the end HYDRA couldn't keep you down, and I know you won't let some pesky memories either.”  
 _“_ _ **We**_ _won't allow it!”_  
  


The turn in Yasha's demeanour was jarringly sudden as he spoke, correcting Tony's words with a sharp edge of intent and ice cold determination, making it perfectly clear that he considered his progress a joint accomplishment.  
  


“Together.”  
 _“Together.”_  
  


The exchange made Tony pause for a moment, remembering all the times Rogers would speak of family and togetherness, then Yasha's hand on his neck, pulling his head down until their foreheads met brought him back to the here and now.  
  


“I don't know how many times Rogers threw that word around...”  
  


He couldn't hide the bitter edge as he spoke, not that he really wanted to, and he was rewarded with a soft huff.  
  


“ _He clearly has no idea what it means.”_  
  


They took a few moments to centre themselves again before giving the report a final check and asking Friday to send it out.  
  


“ _I'm still confused about Rogers' lack of reaction to how I was created...”_  
  


Yasha was struggling to make sense of the lack of reaction, based on previous behaviour it was odd that only the mention of the witch, and Tony's short undercover appearance had triggered a reaction.  
  


“If I may?”  
 _“Always Fri.”_  
“I think he simply doesn't care because it was done to the Winter Soldier, not his _Bucky_. Intentionally refusing to acknowledge anything prior to the break or any connection between the two other than sharing a body.”  
 _“He wants his old pal back unchanged, so he picks the information that suits him and refuses to acknowledge the rest, using it to create a scenario where he can be the saviour and get everything he wants.”_  
“That would make sense based on prior observations. Even Rogers must understand that you can't go through something like this and not change. But if he convinces himself that only the Winter Soldier suffered while keeping _Bucky_ safe...”  
  


For obvious reasons Yasha hadn't mentioned the _death_ of Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, only that his suffering had caused the emergence of the Winter Soldier as a separate personality, a protector that could take anything HYDRA did.  
  


“ _Ignoring the torture leading up to the shattering...”_  
“Not such a leap if he is indeed delusional. Doing that he can maintain the idea that he can save his _Bucky_ , that the Winter Soldier will go away if he can just keep _Bucky_ safe and remind him of their past. The idea that pre-fall _Bucky_ is just waiting for him beneath HYDRA's soldier.”  
  


The implications that came about when combining Friday's assessment with the amassing indications that Rogers was after more than just a friendship sent a shiver of something cold and slimy down Yasha's spine.  
  


“ _Leaving him with his old buddy, unchanged, and himself, in the role of the heroic saviour, the only one who could ever understand, understand what it's like to be changed by the serum, what it's like to wake up in a strange new time. The only person to trust, to rely on...”_  
“To love.”  
  


Friday's conclusion to his line of thought turned the shiver to a shudder, and Tony's stiff posture and pale face was enough to tell he was feeling the same sense of wrongness.  
  


“Now that paints a seriously disturbing image...”  
 _“No kidding...”_  
“Fri, could you add this to the report please?”  
“Of course Boss.”  
 _“And could you ask 'em to wait until we're back from Wakanda to get back to us about it.”_  
“Will do.”  
  


As important as it was to stay on top of their strategies Yasha really didn't want to deal with the current clusterfuck any more right now.  
  


“How about we forget about all that shit and get ready for our little vacation instead?”  
 _“Sounds like a plan.”_  
  


Getting ready for a one week trip was quickly done as both of them kept several bags and suitcases already packed and ready, everything from fancy suitcases for business trips to sturdy backpacks and duffel bags with mission or bug-out style packing.  
Getting ready for a trip mostly consisted of grabbing the appropriate luggage and getting it either into whatever car they were going to use, or bring them up to the launchpad antechamber if they were taking a Quinjet.  
This time they would be picked up a Wakandan stealth jet so the bags were sent up to the launchpad while Tony picked through the workshop and packed up a few of his nanotech projects to show Shuri his current progress.  
  


Once done they settled down to wait, T'Challa had been unable to give them an exact time when the jet would arrive, only that it would probably be pretty late at night.  
  


“Boss, Yasha, the Wakandan jet has alerted me that they have entered US airspace and will arrive shortly.”  
  


It was just after midnight when Friday announced that their ride was arriving.  
  


“Alright, let's get going.”  
  


Tony couldn't help the flicker of professional jealousy when he could feel the draft from the VLT jet without seeing or hearing it, sure, the Mirage had just as good stealth, but it was tiny by comparison and he had yet to make an equally efficient system for the larger Quinjets.  
Once the jet had landed the stealth disengaged and the ramp opened up to reveal a pair of familiar looking Dora who greeted them with the Wakandan salute, crossing their wrists in front of them and giving a slight nod of respect.  
They both returned the greeting without hesitation, it had felt odd at first with them not being Wakandan, but as they began to visit more frequently to visit the kids T'Challa had insisted that returning the gesture was the most appropriate response.  
It was Shuri who had explained that it didn't matter that they were not born Wakandan, what mattered was that they were worthy in the eyes of Bast.  
  


With the greetings done they grabbed their bags and moved into the jet while the Dora grabbed the crate with Tony's projects and once onboard they found that Nakia was their pilot, prompting another exchange of greetings, this time with a bit more familiarity.  
  


“Dr Stark, Blade, it is good to see you again.”  
“You too Nakia, you work almost as much as I do.”  
  


Tony's quip was rewarded with an amused smile before she asked them to get strapped in for take off.


	25. Wakanda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few mentions of flashbacks and really bad HYDRA memories, but as always not overly detaled.

.·:*¨¨*:·Wakanda·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


The flight to Wakanda was spent talking, mostly about what had been happening in Wakanda since their last visit, and challenging each other to games of Mancala on a 4 by 8 board formed on the sand table.  
Like all versions of Mancala the basics were simple, and the true game was to read and manipulate the opponent rather than in counting where the stones would end up, a game that Nakia and the Dora were all very skilled at.  
  


However, Tony and Yasha both played on a completely different level, even before Phoenix Tony's memory and ability with numbers allowed him to devise and see through strategies with ease, now he could do it near instantly and keep track of all possible outcomes at all times.  
Yasha's edge was a combination of mathematical ability, tactical sense, cold reading, and the mission focus that allowed him to shake any attempts from his opponent to manipulate him.  
None of the women seemed to actually mind the abnormal advantages though, they played a few games to confirm they were outmatched, then settled for watching Tony and Yasha play a game of quips, moving the stones at lightning speed without looking at the board.  
  


After a few rounds Nakia and the Dora decided that the games were getting boring and started randomly calling out new rules intended to make things more interesting, apparently adding extra rules in the middle of a game was a popular way to train their minds to be able to quickly adapt to sudden strategic changes.  
Tony and Yasha both just flashed predatory smiles and rolled with the punches, keeping the games going without ever breaking eye contact, relying on things like muscle movements and sound to tell which stones were being moved.  
  


A soft trill from the main flight console had Nakia moving away from the game, but Tony and Yasha barely noticed, too immersed in the latest challenge where the two Dora would use their Kimoyo beads to add extra marbles to the board.  
With Tony and Yasha still doing their staring contest the only way they could tell when the board had been manipulated was the sound of the newly formed marble dropping into the holes, the added challenge had Tony and Yasha downright delighted.  
To say that they both had a bit of a competitive streak would be like calling Uluru a grain of sand...  
  


“We are approaching Wakandan airspace so you might want to finish up that game and get ready.”  
“Got it.”  
 _“Of course.”_  
  


Yasha's reply, spoken in flawless Wakandan Xhosa, finally managed to throw Tony off for a brief moment, just enough to allow Yasha to gain the upper hand and after that the game didn't last very long.  
  


“You've been holding out on me Snowflake. Been doing some extra practice on your own?”  
  


Flashing a teasing smirk, Yasha offered a consoling pat on the shoulder before grabbing the tactical mask and securing it over his face, he would remove it again once they reached the safety of the private wing of the inner palace.  
One of the things he loved about visiting Wakanda was that as long as he remained in the private sections of the palace he didn't need to hide his face, no masks, no muzzle, not even a veil, the Dora and staff there all knew about him.  
Only the most loyal were allowed that deep into the palace and they would all die to protect the honour of their king, they wouldn't go against T'Challa's offer of hospitality and protection, especially not for something as trite as money.  
  


He knew that part of it was because of who he was, Wakandan culture had a deep rooted respect for warriors, especially those who had been tried and prevailed, they also had some pretty strong ideas about how and where honour was to be found.  
To them there was honour in claiming vengeance for wrongs against yourself or those who are yours, in claiming retribution for wrongs against those who cannot do so themselves, and in paying restitution for the consequences of your actions, especially if caused by events beyond your control.  
Much to Yasha's amusement all of those traced back to HYDRA in his case, his somewhat dark sense of humour appreciating the ironic twist of fate that HYDRA had inadvertently given him everything they had tried to take away.  
  


HYDRA had been his warrior's trial, a trial where he had prevailed by not just surviving and growing stronger, but escaping and becoming more than the mindless weapon they had tried to make him into.  
HYDRA was the target of his vengeance, taking them down once and for all in revenge for all of the horrors they had wrought upon him, as well as for every last bit of Tony's pain and suffering that could be traced back to them, to the death of his parents.  
HYDRA was the source of near inconceivable pain and suffering, their depravities leaving countless victims behind. and his determination to take them all down marked him as an instrument of retribution in the eyes of the Wakandans.  
HYDRA had been the hand wielding the Winter Soldier but he didn't hesitate to pay restitution for what he had done in whatever way he could, protecting Tony, aiding past victims, freeing current ones, and putting his life on the line to prevent future ones.  
  


“Hey, you okay there Winter Wonder?”  
  


Hearing the slightly worried edge in Tony's voice Yasha realised he had lost himself to his thoughts long enough for the others to notice.  
  


“ _I'll be fine.”_  
“Alright.”  
  


By the time the jet set down with nothing but a slight shiver through the frame Yasha had his thoughts back under control and his focus was as sharp as ever when the ramp opened to reveal another pair of Dora Milaje and a handful of palace workers.  
Their bags were quickly handed off to one of the maid staff who placed them on a luggage trolley before heading toward the rooms they would be using along with one of the Dora.  
The crate with Tony's experiments and prototypes was quickly placed on a similar trolley, though this one was a bit larger, more heavy duty, and no one tried to cart it away.  
  


“Dr Stark, White Wolf, if you would follow me please, Princess Shuri is expecting you.”  
“Lead away.”  
  


Once again the Wakandan moniker for Yasha left Tony struggling not to smile at how he had earned it, the memory was one of Tony's darker favourites from interacting with the Wakandan people.  
During one of their earliest visits they had been given permission to explore the nightlife of  _Birnin Zana_ , the Golden City of Wakanda and they had quickly found the Wakandan equivalent of a dive bar and settled in for drinks and games with the locals.  
It hadn't taken long though before a small group of inebriated War Dogs decided to take offence to the presence of outsiders at their favourite establishment, then decided to try to make them leave, without bothering to ask nicely.  


As a result Yasha had dragged two of them out the door by the scruff of their necks while growling the third into submission, once outside he had proceeded to hand them their asses rather thoroughly in front of Nakia and Ayo who had been keeping an eye on them from the shadows.  
The trio had promptly been dragged away by a few Dora to sober up and be dealt with, meanwhile Nakia had grabbed Yasha and dragged him off toward one of the training grounds for a gruelling sparring session against herself and several War Dogs and a few Dora as well.  
At the end of the session the group of Wakandan warriors and spies had decided that someone who had the force of spirit to growl one of theirs into submission, and the skill and strength to hold his own against a group of them must be a wolf not a man.  


.·:*¨¨*:·Wakanda·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


As always meeting Shuri for the first time during a visit meant getting assaulted by the exuberant energy of youth spurred into action by a brilliant mind that clearly considered going a mile a minute to be much too slow.  
With them already being within the safety of Shuri's workshop Tony didn't hesitate to let go of his own pent up energy and allow himself fall into the whirlwind energy, barely taking the time to acknowledge T'Challa's presence.  
  


“He seems to be in a good mood today.”  
  


With a well practised motion Yasha unclasped the mask and allowed it to fall away, revealing an indulgent smile with just a hint of fond frustration, a smile that was mirrored almost perfectly on the face of the young king.  
  


“ _He is.”  
_

T'Challa's soft sigh and barely noticeable head shake as he motioned for him to walk with him to the small sitting area told Yasha that Shuri had probably been climbing the walls ever since the jet left to pick them up.  
Sitting down they keep up a somewhat formal conversation while refreshments suitable for enhanced metabolisms are brought in, but the facade is quickly dropped and they slip into more casual conversation as they begin to eat.  
  


“Would you mind continuing those language lessons while we wait for those two to calm down enough to be able to talk to normal people?”  
 _“Of course not.”_  
  


One of the many functions that could be coded into the Kimoyo beads was a translator function which meant that Yasha didn't need to switch to English while in Wakanda, and Friday translated the Wakandan Xhosa for them when needed.  
But Yasha still wanted to learn the language for himself and had asked to be taught, when T'Challa asked why he had explained that he might not always have the convenience of a translator, and there were always aspects of a language that didn't translate well.  
In the end they had made a deal of sorts, T'Challa would help him learn Wakandan Xhosa, especially the finer points of actually speaking it, while Yasha in turn would help T'Challa master the aspects of the Russian language that were usually not included in language courses.  
Ever the curious kind Shuri had been more than happy to join in and Tony never shied away from learning another language so at times they would all chatter back and forth mixing English, Russian and Xhosa, filling in missing words and correcting pronunciations.  
  


Much to Yasha's amusement those lessons had ended up taking the quite common route of learning mostly curses and other crude language first, something that also helped him relax a bit more around the Wakandan royals.  
The willingness to drop the masks and show that they were just people like everyone else was ultimately a show of trust, and their willingness to trust and drop their guard had worked wonders to help Yasha relax and gradually push his own hypervigilance away around them.  
This would be their first extended stay though and he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about it, in general Wakanda felt safe, especially the palace, but the tower had Loki's wards, offering protection that couldn't be found anywhere else on Earth.  
  


After about an hour T'Challa excused himself to tend to his royal duties, and since the two inventors showed no sign of slowing down Yasha shrugged and picked up his tablet, settling down to continue his studies  
  


“They're still at it...”  
  


A quick look at the time Yasha that it had been just over three hours when T'Challa returned.  
  


“ _They haven't even slowed down...”_  
“Food will be served in half an hour and they need to get cleaned up.”  
 _“Good luck with that...”_  
  


Yasha didn't quite grumble, but it wasn't far from, he knew it wouldn't be easy to talk Tony away from the workshop in his current manic state, and Shuri could be almost as bad.  
  


“You grab yours and I'll grab mine.”  
  


There was no denying the mischief and challenge in those words which had Yasha glaring at the young king, Yasha might be stronger than T'Challa, but unlike Tony's now enhanced state Shuri was just a baseline human.  
Back during the so called Civil War they had been on roughly equal footing, but Yasha had been in pretty bad condition at that time, even with HYDRA he had been underfed, and after his escape he hadn't been able to get nearly enough food to stay in proper shape.  
The first few months with Tony he had bulked up quite a bit simply from proper food and time spent in the gym blowing off steam, fortunately his body type was more on the lean side so while he did get stronger he didn't end up all bulging.  
  


“ _Fine...”_  
  


Yasha set his tablet aside with a huff and focused his attention on Tony and Shuri who were fortunately focused on one of the sand tables at the moment, chattering away at lightning speed, half formed sentences flickering back and forth.  
With a quick nod both men stalked silently toward their targets who remained oblivious to their approach before it was too late and two very similar shrieks were heard as they were grabbed and hoisted onto the shoulder of their respective captor.  
  


“ _Brother, put me down!”_  
“Come on Snowflake, don't do this...”  
  


The complaints and pleas were ignored until they reached the door that connected the workshop wing to the rest of the palace at which T'Challa set a pouting but cooperative Shuri down, Yasha however held on to his glowering and rather uncooperative cargo.  
  


Once they reached their assigned rooms Yasha dumped his captive onto the bed and watched in amusement as Tony struggled to maintain a petulant mask before breaking down into wide, predatory grin that almost made Yasha take a step back  
Grabbing and carrying Tony like that had been a calculated risk, and the current outcome was by far the most likely one, the man did have one hell of a strength kink after all and Yasha manhandling him was one of the easier ways to set him off.  
As much as he wanted to give in to the fire in Tony's gaze it wouldn't do to not show up when invited to join the royal family for dinner.  
  


“ _Come on, we need to get ready for dinner. You wouldn't want to upset the Queen Mother now would you?”_  
  


He knew it was a bit of a low blow to take advantage of Tony's deep respect for strong women to keep him in line, but he doubted anything else would work at this point, this deep into one of his manic episodes there were few things that could draw him out.  
  


“Come on Frosty, that's seriously underhanded.”  
 _“Oh really?”_  
“Mhm, downright cheating.”  
 _“I'd call it good tactics.”_  
“Of course you would...”  
 _“Don't think I don't know you're trying to stall.”_  
  


Tony just huffed at that, but he did get off the bed and grabbed some fresh clothes, laying them out on the bed before making a beeline for the bathroom to get cleaned up and Yasha began removing his weapons so he could get changed as well.  
Out of respect for their hosts Yasha had foregone most of his weapons, carrying only his collection of vibranium edged blades with the short swords crossed over his back, similarly Tony only carried a watch gauntlet.  
The current model was a lot more powerful than the one Yasha had faced up against in Berlin though, the nano-conduits formed through Tony's body by the Phoenix nanites allowing it to be powered directly from the new arc reactor.  
Fortunately they were both experts at the 5-minute dash, so when a soft knock at the door was followed by a palace servant announcing that she was there to bring them to the dining room they were both ready to go.  
  


When they enter the small dining room they are greeted by Queen Mother Ramonda in her usual reserved but yet warm way and Yasha once again found himself thinking about how easily the Wakandan royals had accepted him.  
The Queen Mother had the compassion and instincts of a mother tempered by experience, instinct told her he was a broken, dangerous thing, experience told her he wasn't a threat to hers, and compassion urged her to accept and include.  
T'Challa saw him through the eyes of a warrior enhanced with the instincts of a predator, acknowledging the power and inherent danger that came with what HYDRA had created, and trusted that like a warrior, a predator, Yasha wouldn't unleash that power unless needed.  
Shuri despite her brilliance was still too young to truly see and understand the danger he represented, but she trusted her family to warn her of danger, leaving her to him with an easy openness that Yasha found strangely refreshing.  
  


“Damn Wolf, doesn't Stark feed you in that fancy tower of his?”  
  


Shuri offered another of her teasing quips as Yasha filled up his place again, earning her a soft scolding about language from T'Challa while Ramonda just shook her head with an indulgent smile.  
  


“ _Oh, he feeds me plenty enough, but as you no doubt already know, I've known extensive starvation. That's something you never really get over, it stays with you.”_  
  


Yasha didn't bother sugar coating things when dealing with Shuri, which occasionally earned him a few sharp looks from T'Challa, but he knew that trying to keep a mind like hers in the dark would only cause it to seek out the truth on its own.  
At least by offering the information up, plain and frank though lacking detail, she would have the support and guidance of her family, and be spared the gruesome details, and disinformation, she could come across if she went out there looking on her own.  
  


“So now you eat when there's food, even if you don't really need it?”  
 _“Exactly.”_  
“I'm sorry...”  
 _“Don't be, I survived and I'm stronger for it.”_  
  


He took another bite before turning completely toward Shuri.  
  


“ _I wish you would have heeded the warning and not watched that video. No one should have to listen to something like that.”  
_

Yasha easily spots the flicker of remorse crossing her face, and the way her eyes flicker to T'Challa and Ramonda is enough to tell him that she's already been scolded for watching the video about the _birth_ of the Winter Soldier. _  
_

“You're one of Bast's now White Wolf, one of us, I had to know what those monsters did to you.”  
  


There was a smouldering fury in Shuri's tone that belied her age, one born from a fierce protectiveness and it was something that was very familiar to Yasha.  
  


“ _Trust me Princess, I understand that feeling, that need. But you shouldn't go seeking out those horrors, they tend to end up tainting anything they touch, that touches them.”_  
“But...”  
 _“No, you need to leave that to those of us whose hand will never be clean again.”_  
“They hurt you!”  
 _“And you want to avenge me, I understand that, but I'd rather see you protected, safe from their taint. Can you allow me to_ _ **choose**_ _your protection over my own?”_  
  


Once again Yasha found himself making use of some rather underhanded methods, hinting at the way HYDRA had taken away his choice to combat Shuri's stubborn protectiveness and he can tell right away that it worked.  
It still takes a few stubborn moments before she surrenders, and in those moments he takes note of the sense of approval from her mother and brother, a glance, a nod, a hint of a knowing smile, all suffused with a tangible gratitude.  
  


“Alright White Wolf, you win. This time.”  
 _“A wise choice Princess. Keep that up and you'll make a fine leash for that hothead brother of yours one day.”_  
  


The small bread roll that T'Challa aims for his head in retaliation is expected, and Yasha catches it with a smirk before breaking it apart and using it to wipe his plate.   


.·:*¨¨*:·Wakanda·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“As much as I'd love to dive right back into trying to unravel the marvels that is Wakandan nano-technology I think we'd better get this bounty business over with first.”  
  


Shuri and T'Challa both look somewhat surprised, and worried, when Tony deflects Shuri's eager invitation to return to her lab after their meal, he really would much rather just hide in her lab than tell them about Rogers.  
  


“That doesn't sound good.”  
  


T'Challa had clearly picked up on the edge in Tony's voice, his own shifting to serious in an instant.  
  


“We don't really know if it's going to end up being bad for you guys or not, but it's something you need to know before you decide if you want to help us play the Interpol and Accords Committee, help us get them to ease off their hunt for the Winter Soldier.”  
  


Shuri instantly gained a somewhat stubborn look, she wasn't about to be swayed from protecting her White Wolf, T'Challa on the other hand gave them a concerned look before asking them to follow him to a small conference room.  
Tony wished they didn't have to tell Shuri about how Rogers was acting, about what they suspected, but if they went ahead with the plan to use the HYDRA intel from the _Blacklist_ targets to get Interpol and other authorities to back off she would be part of it as a tech-consultant.  
Chances were that Rogers would be hounding anyone listed as being involved in the deal, and even if they tried to keep the names restricted information like that had a tendency to make its way to the Rogues, there were still a few too many diehard Captain America fans with security clearance.  
With a sigh he turned to Shuri to see how much she actually knew about the so-called Civil War and the events leading up to it.  
  


“How much do you know about the events leading up to the Accords and the Vienna bombing?”  
“A lot more than I'm supposed to, and probably a lot less than I need to...”  
 _“Good answer.”_  
  


Yasha couldn't help running the Red Room assessment parameters on Shuri, it was a habit he had found himself unable to break whenever coming across a capable female, especially if they were young, and sometimes it would come with an urge to train them as well.  
Fortunately that urge was easy to resist, far too many young girls had already suffered the horrors of the Red Room, and too many of those at his own hands, unbidden the memories of what he had done while assigned to the Red Room rose to his mind.  
  


The Red Room was ruthless, given minimal instruction before being subjected to harsh beatings the girls were forced to adapt quickly in order to survive, those who didn't learn fast enough either died from injuries, or were killed for failing.  
He remembered training them without question, and he remembered all the times he had been ordered to _purge_ the weak, remembered the face of every single girl he had killed at the headmistress orders, their expressions as life faded from their eyes.  
The one thing that stood out more than anything among those memories was that so few of the faces showed any fear, they knew his orders were to kill them and yet there was little or no fear, just resignation and acceptance, even relief.  
None of them had tried to fight him when the order had been given, accepting their fate, even welcoming it, and in return he had made their deaths quick and painless.  
  


“Wolf?”  
  


Too deep into the torrent of memories Yasha barely registered Shuri's concerned voice, a brief spark of recognition in the back of his mind filed her away as non-hostile, a non-combatant, no need to do anything other than note her location.  
  


“Don't try to touch him when he's like this, he might lash out and you're not enhanced so he could do some serious damage without meaning to.”  
  


The warning edge in Tony's voice did garner a bit more attention, but it was clearly not aimed at him so Yasha's mind quickly dismissed that as well, though a small part did shift its focus into locking down fight responses, there were no enemies here.  
  


“What's happening?”  
“A flashback. Because of what they did to him he can have some pretty intense ones. Usually he comes out of them just fine on his own, but if it's a bad memory he might lash out, especially if touched.”  
“So we just wait?”  
“Mhm, as long as he seems calm it's best to just let him work through it on his own.”  
“And if he's not calm?”  
  


T'Challa's voice triggered a brighter flare in Yasha's awareness, the mission oriented part of his mind bringing up the pertinent details, enhanced with combat training, specialized vibranium equipment, enemy at one point, current ally, protective of his family, caution advised.  
  


“Talking to him can help bring him out, touching him is a last resort and shouldn't be tried by anyone who can't handle a full power hit from that arm of his.”  
  


As always Tony's voice helped Yasha push through the memories, this time by bringing up other, more recent memories, memories that had never been touched by the wipes, memories of them sitting down after a BARF session.  
It was one of several sessions focused on the Red Room memories and Tony was helping him handle his conflicting feelings about his time as an instructor there, part of which was due to the fact that the trigger words had not been involved.  
It had just been good old conditioning combined with the lack of memories and a part of him hated that it had worked, but back then his body hadn't been as effective at healing the damage from the Chair, the wipes had been more effective and lasted longer.  
However over time he became an excellent study in the human ability to adapt and he began healing and recovering memories faster and faster which led to the necessity of the words to make sure he wouldn't go off mission.  
  


The most prominent part of this specific memory though was Tony telling him that his cold detachment toward the girls would have been a kindness in a sense, unlike the other instructors he was never intentionally cruel, never took pleasure in hurting them.  
Moments later he felt himself slipping out of the memory and blinking at the evening light of Wakanda.  
  


“Welcome back Frosty.”  
  


The light tone told Yasha that this episode had been a calm one though it had clearly unsettled their hosts.  
  


“ _Sorry, got stuck in some old memories there.”_  
“Anything you feel like sharing?”  
  


Tony always asked after his episodes and he considered it for a moment before deciding to share where the memories were from, but without adding any details, at least not in current company, they could talk about it later, in their room.  
  


“ _I don't think the Red Room would be a suitable topic here.”_  
“Alright.”  
  


A moment later Tony shifts the topic with an ease that comes from years of dealing with both boardrooms and the media, controlling a room as easily as his own body.  
He gives Shuri a quick rundown, checking how much she knows, adds a few details that are needed before bringing the topic of Rogers up, and promises that they will tell her all the details she needs to know later, asking Friday to put together a detailed briefing for her.  
  


“The Accords were only a minor part of the so called Civil War, a reagent, or perhaps more of a catalyst, at the heart of it was Rogers' desire to save his good old buddy _Bucky Barnes_.”  
  


Tony had Friday bring up details about DC, how Rogers and Romanoff had learned the truth about the Starks assassination at Camp Lehigh, pointing out that Rogers had apparently convinced Romanoff he would tell Tony.  
  


“ _Instead of telling the truth Rogers used Tony's resources behind his back to look for me, to hunt me down, masquerading it as missions to hunt HYDRA.”_  
“Asshole move...”  
 _“Very. The problem is that he hasn't given up on hunting me down even if his hands are tied now. If you agree to this chances are very high that he will be hounding you for information, demanding that you provide information about my location, or a means to track the_ com-tech _we'll be using.”_  
“But, isn't part of the reason for this is to allow you, eh him...Whatever, to share the information without ending up on HYDRA's radar or give them any heads up about any operations against them?”  
 _“It is, but all he cares about is getting his old pal back.”_  
“He's nuts...”  
  


A moment later Friday spoke up, drawing attention to the Eidolon where it perched on Yasha's shoulder.  
  


“Crude choice of words, but based on information we have gained after the bounty we have reason to believe that's actually the case. Rogers is showing clear signs of being delusional, displaying aberrant behaviour in matters regarding Yasha, or as he insists, Bucky.”  
  


The way the plates and vents of Yasha's arm ripple then snaps shut at the mention of that old name is telling, something that had been a sign of affection and companionship to the one who came before had become a curse.  
  


“Permission to divert from privacy protocols?”  
“Go ahead Fri, start with the recording from the Quinjet and the call after the announcement of the bounty.”  
“Got it Boss. Your Highness, may I access the holographic projectors in this room?”  
“Of course, go ahead.”  
  


It took a moment longer than usual for Friday to interface with the projectors as the Wakandan code was fundamentally different from anything else in the world, curiously enough the closest things to it were the new code cluster in her own core, and the way Tony's mind translated to code.  
Perhaps it was something inherent to vibranium based technology...  
The displays come to life and show Rogers' reactions, the aggression, the pacing, she plays the audio of the call, allowing them to hear the accusations, the certainty that Tony was behind the bounty and they can see the Wakandan royals pale at the behaviour.  
  


“That's... Concerning...”  
“That's just the beginning, but it was a turning point. Fri had been studying Rogers on her own for a while, trying to understand why he would do what he did, but after this she told us about it, about her suspicions.”  
 _“Tony, I didn't put any value to it before, but did you notice that he never once mentioned what_ _ **it**_ _was, what I'm supposedly innocent of?”_  
  


Yasha's interruption instantly brought Tony's mind to focus and he quickly ran through the conversation.  
  


“You're right. Wonder if he was intentionally avoiding mentioning the assassination or Siberia to let them think he was talking about the bombing.”  
“The others didn't know about the assassination or what happened in Siberia?”  
  


There's an edge in T'Challa's voice, the question coming across cold and hard.  
  


“As far as we know they didn't know until we released the information in the video. Or well, Romanoff found out at the same time Rogers did at the latest, she might even have at least suspected something before, but I don't think he told her about Siberia, about the video.”  
“Because that would justify you shunning him, and them by association, shift the role of betrayer away from you and over to him...”  
“That's what we thought at first too. Now it seems it might have been more about maintaining a narrative that his old pal is the ultimate paragon of innocence.”  
  


A simple thought was all it took to switch the video being displayed, pushing on with Rogers' erratic behaviour, Friday narrating what they were seeing and her interpretation of it, each reaction up to and including the latest video.  
As they watched and talked about what they were seeing, the possible implications, Tony noticed the way Shuri moved closer and closer to her brother, nearly crawling into his lap and it made him want to strangle the Rogues all over again.  
On top of that part of him wanted to strangle himself too for thinking even for a moment that it was okay to expose her to the Rogues' crap, to Rogers' delusions despite having spoken about it at length with her, T'Challa and Ramonda.  
Gods, she was only 20 and had lived a fairly sheltered life, she shouldn't have to deal with the dark side of the world, she should be down in her lab, smiling and creating the future.  
  


When they came to the section about Maximoff Tony could feel T'Challa's eyes on him and when he looked up the gaze narrowed for a moment, calculating, then it slipped over to Yasha.  
  


“Tell me White Wolf, the shot that killed the witch?”  
  


It was quite clear that T'Challa was certain they were behind it, that it had been Yasha who took her out, but opted to ask anyway, the question was what exactly he was looking for, did he just want confirmation, or was he testing to see if they would lie about it.  
Yasha didn't hesitate to answer, he had no doubt that T'Challa would agree with their course of action now that he knew who and what she was, and a bit about what she had done, he could give more details later if there were still doubts, but not in front of the princess.  
  


“ _Yes, I took her out. Not only was her power far too dangerous to leave in the hands of someone like her. Ruled by emotions twisted by hatred even before she joined HYDRA. She had to be stopped. Personally I would have preferred to see her suffer, eye for an eye for the pain and suffering she forced on Tony.”_  
  


Yasha bit his words off with a growl before he could delve into what he had wanted to do to the Ved'ma, he had dreams of taking her down with tranqs instead, of strapping her down in one of the chairs HYDRA used to secure their enhanced experiments.  
He knew that inflicting pain and damage to her hands would keep her from using her powers and he dreamt of how he would use that to keep her contained while using every trick HYDRA had taught him, force her to feel at least a fraction of what she had done to others.  
And after meeting Loki and learning a bit more about magic he wished he could go back in time and use some of the things the alien god had spoken of on her, wards and amulets that would force her to feel all the pain she had ever caused.  
Those things however were not something to mention in polite company, he shouldn't have mentioned wanting her to suffer at all, but a quick glance at T'Challa and Shuri only returned grim approval.  
  


“Not like she had done any less to you Snowflake. There was every bit as much of that vile corruption of hers left behind in your head as in mine.”  
“Corruption?”  
  


T'Challa's question made them pause for a brief moment, but fortunately they had already talked it over with Loki and come to an agreement on what to say if they needed to tell someone about the residual effects of Maximoff's magic.  
  


“Yeah, Maximoff had plenty of raw power but lacked fine control, if someone resisted her she pushed through with brute force rather than finesse. 'Cause of this she left power behind when manipulating people, especially if they fought the intrusion. This residue wasn't actively controlled by her but it still did her bidding.”  
“Doing what?”  
 _“Her favourite method of manipulation was to seek out their fears and painful memories, bringing them forward as extremely vivid visions. The power she left behind did the same, but a bit more subtle, triggering severe nightmares, anxiety and panic attacks.”_  
“In my case, aggravating my already pretty bad PTSD, between nightmares that made sleeping damn near impossible and PTSD episodes with hypervigilance and paranoia my ability to make rational decisions was seriously compromised.”  
“But you're okay now that she's dead?”  
“Yes and no, killing her didn't remove the corruption, we didn't even know about it at first. Not until we came across a magic user who mentioned the possibility of her having manipulated the Rogues. We asked the same thing you did, she was dead, shouldn't her influence have ended there? That's when we learned that power could be left behind, causing lingering effects.”  
  


Tony couldn't help shivering at the memory, the cold panic he had felt at the mere idea that some of her power was still inside him.  
  


“I asked them if they could check for any traces of her power and they agreed, and was able to draw it out and contain it. Wasn't fun though, had to let them rummage through our heads, pull that crap out one toxic piece of barbed wire at a time.”  
”Some good news at least.”  
“Brother, you fought her, she used her power on you...”  
  


Shuri's concern was obvious and it had T'Challa looking a bit shaken as well.  
  


“ _She used the telekinesis aspect of her power on you so there shouldn't be any residue.”_  
“Our contact is working on creating artefacts for detecting and removing her power that anyone can use, we'll bring those here and check as soon as we have them just to be on the safe side.”  
“That would be appreciated...”  
“Can't you bring this magic user here, check they way they did on you?”  
  


Shuri didn't settle down quite as easily and pushed in her concern.  
  


“I'm afraid not, they would probably be willing to do it, but they are, well, somewhat incommunicado and rarely able to travel.”  
  


Tony didn't like having to hedge the details when she was so clearly distraught, but they couldn't reveal Loki, not without talking to him first, and even then Tony felt like it was still too early to add him to the mix.  
Shuri was still a swirling mess of anger and worry, but she gave a sharp nod of understanding, clearly not happy about it but forcing herself to accept the circumstances.  
  


“I understand, whatever assistance you can give will be greatly appreciated.”  
  


The words were stilted, formal, and she couldn't quite get the mask of formality, of polite detachment in place, a mask Tony knew she was pretty good at holding once in place, but she wasn't experienced enough to smoothly slip into it when already upset.  
  


“I'm sorry I don't have more to offer right now.”  
  


He watched silently as T'Challa calmed Shuri down, pointing out what Yasha had mentioned about Maximoff's powers, that the telekinesis was unlikely to leave any corruption behind, and the fact that he hadn't felt any increased anxiety or other symptoms.  
While they spoke Tony focused on the solid weight of Yasha's hand on his knee, allowed the sensation of metal fingers tapping out the steady rhythm of a heartbeat to ground him, allowed himself to drift along the sound of Yasha's slow breathing.  
He wasn't really paying attention to T'Challa and Shuri, but after a while he did notice that the tone of their conversation shifted from reassuring to that special brand of part fond, part aggravated, bickering that only siblings could truly pull off.  
  


“In the name of Bast Wakanda will stand by its White Wolf against the beast known as HYDRA, whatever aid he asks we will provide to the best of our ability.”  
  


There was a distinct twinkle in Shuri's eyes that made it obvious that she was intentionally being totally over the top as far as formality of her words was concerned, and while T'Challa did nod his agreement he was clearly struggling not to laugh.  
Shuri manages to keep a straight face for almost a full second past her little declaration before breaking down laughing and a moment later T'Challa loses it as well.  
  


“I will inform the others and give them a quick briefing on your concerns about Rogers and the Rogues.”  
  


With that T'Challa bowed out, leaving Tony and Yasha with a still cackling Shuri.  


.·:*¨¨*:·Wakanda·:*¨¨*:·.  
  


“Come on white boys, there is work to be done.”  
“Oh, bossy little niblet, I like it.”  
“Really, using Spike as inspiration? Aren't you a bit old to be a Buffy fan?”  
“Nah, never too old for that kid.”  
  


Tony and Shuri continued to trade quips as they walked toward the labs and Yasha just looked at them like they were insane, which to be frank probably wasn't too far off, it seemed to be a common trait among the more brilliant minds.  
By the time they reached Shuri's lab the two inventors were already deep into shop-talk so Yasha just veered off toward the half hidden sitting area off in the corner, it allowed him to keep an eye on the room while remaining mostly hidden.  
Grabbing the tablet on the small table he waits for Friday to link with it and bring up his study list, once loaded he flips through the various listings before selecting robotics, the current goal with his studies was to gain a better understanding for how his arm worked.  
  


Thanks to the Extremis aspects of Phoenix and the nanites that they both carried Tony had a constant awareness of his favourite super assassin, his location and physical condition, while the various charms that Loki had made for them gave them a sense of the other's moods.  
With a moment of focus he pushed the thread of awareness further back into his mind, relegating it to running like a background process and setting up conditions for bringing it back to the front, he had quickly grown to love the way Phoenix allowed him to make his mind run like a computer.  
He loved things like how he could set spatial awareness as a background process and have it ping him if something happened within various perimeters, or in this case, a process that would alert him if Yasha moved or if his mood changed.  
  


“Alright Miss Q, what marvels do you have in mind for tonight?”  
  


Shuri tried to glare at him, but the sparkle of humour in her eyes ruined the attempt rather spectacularly.  
  


“Data transfer, unlimited range, can't be disrupted or intercepted.”  
“Ah, now we're talking.”  
”A combined transmitter and receiver locked into a resonating vibranium frequency.”  
  


For a moment Tony just gaped at the data Shuri was showing him.  
  


“That's quantum entanglement...”  
“I guess...”  
“Damn girl, now you're definitely speaking my language.”  
  


His mind was racing with all the possibilities of the technology, but it kept returning to how it could be applied to create a network of backup cores for Friday that would always be up to date.  
  


“We're gonna need a conversion module for the data, keep it from getting corrupted when we run it through Wakandan computer systems.”  
  


Ideas bounced back and forth, quickly turning to designs spun out of light and vibranium sand and before long three identical vibranium objects, each roughly the size of a deck of cards, were laid out on one of the tables.  
  


“Damn, we are good!”  
  


Tony picked one of them up and ran a finger along the matte black surface before pressing at the barely noticeable recess in the data port cover, watching it soundlessly slide open and reveal the collection of data ports.  
  


“We still need a way to deliver it, for appearances.”  
“Hey, Snowflake, which tech-runner would you suggest to deliver a piece of vibranium tech the size of a deck of cards?”  
 _“Depends on the locations.”_  
“Pick-up somewhere like Vienna, Lyon or Brussels and drop-off somewhere out in Russia.”  
 _“Definitely Aquila. She's not a specialised tech-runner but for packages that size in that region there's no one better.”  
_ “And who is she?”  
  


Shuri was understandably wary about the idea of handing anything containing Wakandan vibranium tech to an outsider.  
  


“ _She's a mutant who can form mental bonds, and communicate, with eagles, and she's rumoured to be a shapeshifter as well, able to take the form of an eagle.”_  
“You trust her, Wolf?”  
 _“As much as I trust anyone, she lives by a very strict code of honour, and she's a huge fan of the Stark Industries green energy projects.”_  
“Oh?”  
  


Tony instantly perked up at the mention of his little pet project.  
  


“ _Wind-farms that kill a lot of eagles are being replaced by arc-reactors.”_  
“Guess someone like that would be pretty protective of them.”  
“Alright Wolf, I trust that you know what you're doing.”  
  


There was no mistaking the edge of warning in Shuri's words, her entire posture, she liked Yasha, and she trusted him, but her people came first, she wouldn't allow his quest against HYDRA to jeopardise Wakanda's future, or that of her people.  
At least not too much, she recognized that HYDRA was a threat to everyone, Wakanda included, especially now that they were preparing to gradually open up their borders and properly join the rest of the world, so some risks had to be taken.  
  


“ _You and your people welcomed me, well most of them at least, I have no intention of betraying that trust. I don't ever want my hunt for HYDRA to hurt the innocent, but you know as well as I do that sometimes collateral damage can't be avoided no matter how much you wish it could.”_  
“Spoken like a true son of Bast.”  
  


The tension in her posture had bled away while Yasha spoke, but there was still a hint of bite in her voice, she no doubt knew his words were true, she was raised as a princess and a warrior after all, but she was young, and still mostly uncorrupted by the world.  
Like most youths who had lived a reasonably safe life she was still a bit of an idealist, still carried that utopian dream that perfect outcomes were always possible, the fact that sometimes all there would be was bad and less bad was one of life's tougher lessons.  
  


When Yasha answered with the same words of blessing that T'Challa had offered when inviting them the previous week she broke into a wide smile, then offered the Wakandan salute, complete with a bow of head that was far deeper than expected from someone of her standing.  
Tony waited a moment for the exchange to end, then he pushed on with a rough outline for a plan, they would have to talk it over with T'Challa and the others before making any final decisions though.  
  


“So, we'll get in touch with this eagle woman once we're ready to present these to the powers that be and have her pick one up and deliver it somewhere suitable to throw them off the scent.”  
“Wolf, these eagles of hers, how much can they carry?”  
 _“She uses Golden Eagles in that area, they're pretty huge. Wild specimens can grow a wingspan in excess of 2 metres, and can weigh more than 6 kilo. Falconry specimens can grow even larger since they are always properly fed.”_  
“Damn, that's some impressive birds.”  
“There are records of female wild Golden Eagles with wingspans in excess of 2.5 metres and weights above 7.5 kilo.”  
  


Friday helpfully added a few statistics on the massive raptors before taking control of the large sand table to bring up a full size model of the largest recorded specimen.  
  


“They can carry quite a bit of weight, but they can't take off from the ground with more than 2 to 3 kilo of extra load. There are numerous accounts of Golden Eagles being injured or killed by cars after gorging themselves on roadkill and being too heavy to get out of the way.”  
 _“Aquila's bonded eagles are bigger and stronger though. Not only are they raised as falconry birds, but the bond has an effect similar to the serum. The Golden Eagle she had with her last time I saw her had a wingspan over 3 metres and had no problems carrying off with the AWM I was using at the time, and that thing weighs some 7 kilo.”_  
  


The way Yasha grumbled when mentioning the eagle taking off with his rifle made it quite clear he hadn't given it up willingly, and the image of a huge eagle stealing the Winter Soldier's rifle sent Tony into a giggling fit that earned him a full power murder glare.  
Shuri on the other hand looked equal parts amused and confused.  
  


“Soldier boy here **really** loves his weapons, even in full on, no memories Asset mode a good rifle like an AWM would have been his sweet little darling.”  
 _“Only things that were ever mine...”_  
  


There was no mistaking the sharp edge of bitterness in Yasha's words, but there were hints of something softer beneath, acceptance, and even a bit of humour, something that hadn't been there last time Tony had spoken to him about that particular aspect of his possessiveness.  
  


“You have family now White Wolf.”  
 _“That I do.”_  
  


Tony didn't need Loki's charms to see that Yasha was starting to spiral and moments later Shuri noticed as well and ushered the ever present Dora out the door and Tony gave her a grateful nod, less potential threats would make it easier on Yasha.  
  


“Do you want me to leave as well?”  
“You can stay if you want to, might as well show you a few things about how to deal with this.”  
  


Yasha was too far gone to speak but he gave a tense nod and Shuri responded by triggering some sort of lockdown of her lab, which unfortunately pushed Yasha closer to the edge as he was unfamiliar with the protocol, setting off all kinds of triggers about being locked in.  
  


“Easy White Wolf, it's one way only, no one can enter, but we can leave whenever we want to.”  
  


Some of the tension bled away, but Tony knew there was no way they'd be able to avoid a full on episode this time.  
  


“This is going to look pretty disturbing, but I promise, it's okay, and whatever you do don't try to interfere, he will attack if you do.”  
“Okay.”  
“Anyone but me getting close and he might lash out so keep your distance unless one of us tells you to come closer. You can talk, but keep your voice down and don't say anything that can be interpreted as confrontational or challenging.”  
“Understood.”  
“It would help if you'd go stand over there, that way we can both see you without you ending up in focus. Don't want him to focus on you if we can avoid it.”  
  


Shuri quickly does as asked, placing herself in a position that allows both of them to keep her in their peripheral view.  
With a deep breath to steady himself Tony locked eyes with Yasha and after a few moments there was a slight nod to proceed which sent a wash of relief through him, it had to be done but receiving permission made it a lot easier.  
He took another deep breath, straightened his posture and forced a mask of cold command into place before barking out a sharp command in Russian.  
  


“ _Asset!”_  
  


The reaction was instant and Yasha's face went blank as he slipped into his usual kneeling position.  
  


“ _Ready to comply.”_  
  


Tony didn't continue right away, instead he waited for the brightness of the blue in Yasha's eyes to fade into that mix of pale ice and steel that showed he was fully into the Asset mindset before stepping closer.  
  


“Eyes on me _Soldier_.”  
 _“Complying.”_  
  


Yasha's posture shifted slightly as he raised his head to be able to look into Tony's eyes when he was standing so close.  
  


“Asset, confirm active mission parameters.”  
  


Tony calmly walks the room while Yasha lists the parameters they have set for him, carefully making sure that Shuri remains in view for both of them as Yasha's eyes track him.  
  


“Asset, what is your condition?”  
 _“The arm unit is fully operational, no damage, no malfunctions. Serum function, optimal. The Asset is in peak physical condition.”_  
  


There was a slight pause, not quite hesitation but close, before he continued his report, the hesitance to report anything short of debilitating injuries was still an issue.  
  


“ _The Asset is currently experiencing excessive adrenaline levels for non-combat conditions. Estimate five minutes for serum to return levels to non-combat baseline. Cause, memory pathway abnormality, recalibration recommended.”_  
“Recalibration is not required, the Asset will remain in position until levels have normalized. Combat response permitted in accordance with current mission parameters.”  
 _“Complying.”_  
  


With Yasha settled Tony turned to Shuri to explain a bit of what she had just seen.  
  


“You can come closer now if you want to, he won't move unless someone attacks us.”  
  


He was relieved that she moved closer without hesitation, showing no signs of fear, not only because he didn't want her to be afraid of Yasha, but also because sensing fear from her would put him on edge and slow things down.  
  


“This is what HYDRA turned him into, the Asset, absolute compliance, a tool void of will and emotion. When he's fully in the Asset mindset like this there's nothing but the Handler and the Mission. I could put a bullet in him right now and he wouldn't even blink.”  
“But he'll be okay?”  
“Yeah, he will return to normal once he's completed the mission I gave him. If he goes into this state and doesn't receive a proper mission it can take a few days for him to return to normal.”  
“Mission?”  
“We've worked out a pretty effective system for when this happens, the order I gave him not to move until his adrenaline levels are normal is registered as a mission.”  
“I see.”  
“He will complete the mission, give his report, and then I can bring him out of it without any major issues. We'll still have to deal with whatever it was he remembered that triggered this though.”  
  


He explained that the best way to deal with Yasha if he slipped into the Asset mindset was calm and firm, authoritative but without actually giving orders since he wouldn't accept anyone other than Tony as handler any more.  
If someone tried to order him around without Tony okaying them first he would perceive that as a potential threat to his handler and act accordingly, ranging from flat out ignoring them to delivering swift death.  
Infighting was pretty common in HYDRA and there had been several occasions over the years where someone, usually a lower rank handler, had used the triggers to make him kill one, or several, of his handlers.  
There were usually multiple handlers trained in using the Winter Soldier, a primary handler and a small group of backups who would step in if the primary was unavailable, or killed, and being the primary handler for the Winter Soldier was a coveted position.  
  


Tony didn't show any reaction when Yasha rose to his feet and approached and Shuri took her cue from him and ignored him as well, though Tony could tell she was struggling a bit.  
He waited for Yasha to slip into position slightly behind and to the side where he shifted into parade rest.  
  


“Asset, report.”  
  


He listened as Yasha gave a quick report that was essentially just Mission accomplished then acknowledged that the mission had been completed as specified.  
  


“Mission complete. Resume standby, the Asset has discretion.”  
 _“Acknowledged. Standing by for orders. The Asset has discretion.”_  
  


Knowing it will be a few more minutes before Yasha returns to being verbal Tony gives Shuri a nudge to explain why she was asking about how much the eagles could carry.  
  


“When you brought the kids, you had a lot of paper files with you.”  
“Yeah, most of the remaining HYDRA facilities are oldschool, paper files, non-networked computers and stuff like that, that's why they survived the dump.”  
“Then it would make sense for Wakanda to provide the Winter Soldier with one of these.”  
  


Reaching into a drawer Shuri brought out what looked like a sheet of clear plastic, slightly larger than a sheet of printer paper with a vibranium frame along one of the shorter edges and a closer look revealed a vibranium honeycomb pattern.  
  


“This can scan up to 100 sheets of paper, or a centimetre thickness, at a time, should make a nice token of gratitude to the man risking life and freedom to take down HYDRA.”  
“Definitely, paper files are a pain in the ass when doing off the book ops.”  
  


By the time Shuri is done demonstrating how it works, including how easily it could be rolled up, Yasha is mostly back to himself, but not quite, whatever the memory was it must have been something bad.  
  


“Hey, Snowflake, care to share what popped back in that jigsaw memory of yours?”  
“Mission memory, a bad one. Deserter, got pregnant and tried to bail, I was sent to make an example of her...”  
“Alright, bad one. Just let me know if you want to talk about it later.”  
  


Tony knew full well what it meant when HYDRA sent their Asset to make an example of someone, especially a female someone, those were some of the worst of Yasha's memories.  
  


“ _I will...”_  
  


Shuri had clearly been paying attention when they spoke about Yasha's, and Tony's, issues and how to best handle them as her approach was slow and measured, but not hesitant, mindful not to send Yasha spiralling again.  
Tony noted that she was pretty good at keeping her attentive caution from focusing to the point where it would trigger a response in someone like Yasha, it was barely noticeable under her curiosity as she stepped right into Yasha's personal space.  
She didn't stop until she was close enough to touch him, though she didn't reach out, instead he leaned in slightly to have a closer look at his eyes, no doubt curious about the way the colour had changed during the episode.  
  


“You okay now Wolf?”  
 _“No. With memories like the one that just connected it takes a while. Some of the atrocities they forced me to commit...”_  
  


His face twisted into a mask of disgust and loathing as his voice trailed off then morphed into surprise when Shuri reached out and cupped his face, drawing his full attention.  
  


“ **They** are the monsters here White Wolf, **not** you. You are a killer but that does **not** make you a monster. You are a born predator, hunter and protector.”  
  


The familiar sentiment made Yasha huff, then reach out and tap a metal finger against her temple, carefully minding his strength.  
  


“ _The mind is easy, it deals in fact, it knows the truth. But knowing is not the same as accepting.”_  
  


His hand moved and tapped over her heart.  
  


“ _The heart deals with acceptance, and it's not as easily swayed.”_  
  


For a moment she just looked at him, then she snorted in amusement.  
  


“I believe we have a philosopher and poet on our hands here.”  
“He does have a way with words when he feels like it.”  
  


Whatever Yasha grumbled next was far too garbled to even tell what language it was supposed to be triggering another round of teasing.  
  


“And sometimes my dear Winter Wolf can be a bit less than eloquent...”  
  


The grumblings turned to an outright growl at that and a moment later Yasha pounced and pinned Tony against the nearest table.  
  


“Ooh, growly...”  
 _“Shut up.”_  
  


When Tony opened his mouth for another quip Yasha took the easy way out and silenced him with a kiss, ignoring Shuri's snickering as she ended the lockdown.  
  



End file.
